By Mark Schram, myfishingpartner.com
“The weatherman said….” is the only way to start this story: partly cloudy and 25 degrees with variable winds of 10-15 mph. The weatherman could not have been more wrong.
Chase Eberly and I decided to make the trek to Egg Harbor in Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. The journey takes roughly 3 hours from my home, and this is an area with which I am vaguely familiar. Our Goal: whitefish.
We arrived at the launch in Murphy Park and were greeted with a light wind and overcast skies. After getting the gear ready and the ATV unloaded we were on our way to our fishing spot about 2 miles off shore. Heck, I didn’t even bother with thermal underwear because I didn’t want to overheat.
I asked Chase to lay a GPS trail down with Navionics Navigation app on his phone. While on the ice, I always try to use some type of GPS trail for safety and to have a navigation route back home. We picked our path through the ice heaves and giant ice blocks on the ice’s surface.
About one mile out, the weather started to change. The winds picked up and the snow was blowing. We continued about another half mile when the elements turned violent. Chase and I discussed our options: turn back and try to find our way home in the white-out conditions with 40 mph winds, or hunker down and wait it out. We opted to setup the Otter Ice shelter and drilled three holes.
By the time we set up, the winds had picked up even more – now estimated in the 50 mph range. We placed the auger on the front of the pop up shack, to hold it down. The other end was attached to the ATV so we would not blow away. I am not sure where this freak storm came from, but it was beating us down.
Chase and I joked around and started fishing inside the shelter. Everything was going fine until I decided to go outside to test start the ATV. It was dead. Even with googles on, I could only stay in the elements a couple of minutes, and had to retreat to the Otter. Chase, thinking I was pulling a fast one, decided to test the machine himself. Dead! The ATV had been in the shop for the previous three weeks, getting a new harness. That “OH crap” feeling hit us quickly.
We made some phone calls to find another angler in the area, but really knew no one but a local guide, Paul Delany of Late Eyes Guide Service. He was violently ill and bedridden, but said he would make a few phone calls on our behalf.
We both placed notes on Facebook, asking if anyone was in the “neighborhood” to help. We took a GPS reading from the Navionics App plus a screen shot, and placed it on our Facebook feeds. About an hour later, we received a call from Paul saying he had someone in route to rescue us and our equipment. Our rescuer would use the GPS coordinates listed on Facebook to find us. One caveat: it would be another two hours.
Chase and I opened discussions on who would die first and if cannibalism would come into play. With all honesty, he wasn’t going to make it. I had a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a bottle of PowerAde. He had a bag of chips.
In all seriousness, both of us often buy the best winter gear on the market. Our Striker Ice Suits kept us warm as temperatures plummeted (even without a base layer). We had two heaters, four bottles of propane, and plenty of other tools at our disposal. We were never in danger (other than the potential of an ice shift), but rather were mostly concerned about getting the gear back to shore. The storm would have to subside if we needed to walk back, otherwise we might become a news story.
After about an hour and half, the wind storm started to cease. We were able to work on the ATV until we found a problem with the kill switch. We got the ATV running and we were celebrating. I waddled over to the newly formed snow bank and made a celebratory snow angel.
Using our original GPS trail, we worked our way back to shore, as all evidence of our snow tracks from four hours ago had been erased by the storm. About half way to the launch, we ran into our rescue individual. It is truly amazing that someone would make such an effort to help people he doesn’t even know. The world is full of wonderful people, but we so seldom hear about them. He was rewarded handsomely!
There are several lessons to be taught from this incident. Always lay a trail with your GPS when going on the ice, even if you know your location well. Know how to place your GPS Coordinates on to Facebook (or in to a text) in case of emergency. Have survival gear, even if you never plan on using it. Invest in top end clothing; it just might save your life. Never go onto the ice with a phone that isn’t charged. We passed the emergency test, can you?
By the way, we didn’t catch any fish.
Here is a short video of the conditions, just before heading to shore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qO91d77yBV0&list=UUda5_YvomIwQLzTBXJxEzaw
