It had been for months.
As a guy who has repeatedly tested the height limits of hip boots against the uncertain depth of the muddy bottom of creeks and came up with not quite enough boot, I can assure you that Ohio water outdoors in January and February is plenty cold. I’ve stepped through frozen cattails and found myself up to my knees.
That’s far enough for me. I’m really not looking for any cold plunges, intentional or accidental.
But as outdoors people to our north will attest, all ice isn’t equal. It can provide unique opportunities, but it’s continuously changing. The more southern the latitude, the more quickly it can change. So why go?
Technology has dramatically changed ice fishing in recent years. New battery-powered drills with auger bits make creating holes a snap. New underwater cameras and portable fold-up shanties make the fishing more active and comfortable than sitting on a 5-gallon bucket and hoping, though that can still work.
Making ice
The common expression and shared by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is “there’s no such thing as safe ice.” What they mean is that you should always be aware of the conditions and state of the ice. Sort of like Mike Rowe would say in Dirty Jobs, “safety third.”
If safety were truly first, nothing would ever happen, and no one would go anywhere. With ice, the standard is clear blue or black ice, not covered with snow, that measures at least 4 inches in thickness.
The only way to know for sure is make a hole with a spudbar or ice auger and measure. But you can get an idea of when it might be time to venture out and measure by calculating the number of freezing days. That can help determine if the body of water is making or losing ice.
Calculate freezing degree days
- Find Daily Average Temperature: (High Temp + Low Temp) / 2
- Calculate FDDs: 32°F (freezing point) - Daily Average Temperature
- Estimate Ice Growth: FDDs / 15 = Approximate inches of new ice or one inch of ice for every 15 FDDs
Looking at our Southwest Ohio weather over the past several winters, stretches of FDD days long enough to create 4 inches of ice are few and far between. Add in intermittent sun, snow, rain and wind — all of which can change the composition of ice — and things could get dicey. Even Lake Erie to our north, which historically has had reliably safe ice, can’t count on it every season. If you’re going out onto hardwater, measure first and keep these things in mind.
- Clear ice is preferred. It’s stronger than cloudy ice, even if it is unnerving to be able to see through.
- Snow can provide insulation and prevent ice from forming as quickly as it might otherwise.
- Wind and currents can prevent ice from forming. This can later create variances in the thickness of the ice and unsafe areas.
- Vegetation extending through the ice can warm and weaken the ice nearby (e.g., my cattail cold plunge above).
- The water near the shore will warm and weaken before the ice in the center does.
Tipping the odds
Like anything outdoors, it’s best to go with a partner or at least leave information about your plans for where you’re going and how long you plan to be gone. A life jacket will keep you afloat, and speciality ice picks can help you pull yourself out if you do go through. A rope will be helpful if someone else needs assistance. If that does happen, turn back the way you came, reach forward, and kick with your legs to get up onto the ice.
Then stay flat to distribute your weight across the ice as much as possible and continue until you reach areas you know are safe.
And avoid shortcuts across streams or any ice you’re not 100% sure about, as one deer hunter recently found out at Buck Creek State Park the hard way. But don’t miss out on opportunities out of fear. We ultimately made it out onto Lake Mendota.
Devin Meister is a local outdoors and wildlife enthusiast and has a blog called “Average Guy Outdoors.” He is an Ohio University graduate. Reach him at meister.devin@gmail.com.
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