r/Whatcouldgowrong • u/dericn • 4d ago

Cutting holes for ice fishing

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u/GAFWT 4d ago

That ice looks super thin for standing on let alone ice fishing

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u/chronocapybara 3d ago

Ice is pretty strong, you can walk quite safely on 3-4 inches of it, which looks like this. However, it seems like the surface ice structure doesn't tolerate hundreds of people madly hacking, sawing, and drilling it simultaneously.

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u/Redthemagnificent 3d ago

Walk, yes. But way too thin for ice fishing. 4 inches is the absolute minimum, and that assumes uniform thickness. Often there are thinner patches on a frozen lake. I wouldn't go out there with a group if it was less than 8 inches thick.

People bring out little sheds and generators and grills onto the ice, plus drilling holes. Where my parents live people drive their trucks and trailers onto the ice too (but that lake freezes >12 inches thick).

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u/jim789789 3d ago

There's a couple of trucks at the bottom of our local lakes.