Northwest Iowa — Ice fishermen need to be extremely careful right now about the thickness of the ice they’re venturing out onto. An Iowa DNR Conservation Officer had to rescue an ice fisherman last week in south central Iowa, because the fisherman had actually fallen through the ice.
We talked to Conservation Officer Jeff Morrison of the Iowa Department of Natural Resources in Spirit Lake, and he tells us that, while the DNR makes no claims or recommendations on ice thickness, the warm weather is taking its toll on the ice covering the bodies of water in northwest Iowa.
Morrison says ice thickness is going to vary from place to place, so fishermen need to be very vigilant right now when they are on the ice.
He says that with forecasters predicting highs in the 40’s and 50’s this week, the edges of the lakes will probably become dicey.
Even though the ice may be starting to come out on various bodies of water, the water beneath remains cold, which is a bigger concern that drowning when someone falls through the ice. It doesn’t take long for hypothermia to set in and be deadly.
