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Author Topic: hunting from the Ice howler Knows what it's all about Member # 197 posted February 02, 2009 06:31 PM                    Went out Coyote hunting from the Ice the other day and had quite a time, This is a large Missouri River Resivior, several miles wide and over 100 miles long, I run accross a spear fisherman's spear hole, there was a dead carp laying on the ice so he at least had a shot. Further up the lake I had to cross this pressure ridge, these are dangerous spots and you have to pick your crossing carefully. I also found some hungry Coyotes, this one was a nice big male, had some good fur. And well this one got my wind and was heading out I shot him on the run but made a bad shot. Whoops. And a little further up the lake I run into this open water, I was traveling about 25-30 mph and saw some ripples about 50 yards ahead. I hit the brakes an stopped with out much trouble All in all a good day had 6 respond to the call and shot 3 of them, All hand calls by the way, [ February 02, 2009, 06:34 PM: Message edited by: howler ] -------------------- Powder River let'r Buck Posts: 53 | From: Glasgow, Montana | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged JeremyKS Knows what it's all about Member # 736 posted February 03, 2009 06:44 AM                       Thats a first I have seen, cool pics and it looks COLD! Posts: 369 | From: Texas panhandle | Registered: Nov 2005  |  IP: Logged rainshadow1 Knows what it's all about Member # 899 posted February 03, 2009 10:03 AM                       That would be a great day! Thanks for sharing... dressed properly, I could definately see myself spending a day or two doing that every winter! Well done! -------------------- - - Steve RainShadow Game Calls & Custom Knives Cougar E-Sound Library, Hand Calls, & Call-In Story Library. www.rain-shadow.com Posts: 152 | From: NW Washington | Registered: Jul 2006  |  IP: Logged Locohead World Famous Smoke Dancer Member # 15 posted February 03, 2009 11:03 AM                    Interesting terrain there howler! And yes, that is a very nice looking coyote! Well done amigo. -------------------- I love my critters and chick!!!! :) Posts: 2219 | From: CO | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged Randy Roede "It's Roede, like in Yotie Member # 1273 posted February 03, 2009 04:33 PM                    Nothing like hunting the river ice, especially right after it first gets good and solid and the coyotes are traveling on it. Looks like the Missouri here. Nice job Howler!! -------------------- The only person dumber than the village idiot is the person who argues with him! Posts: 669 | From: Pierre SD | Registered: Mar 2007  |  IP: Logged J_hun Knows what it's all about Member # 872 posted February 04, 2009 08:11 AM                       Back in the 70's I hunted on the ice a lot. I live right by the Oahe resevoir which backs up 250 miles to the North. I had a sled I pulled behind atv and called off the ice. It was nothing to shoot 5 or 6 coyotes a day and never see another hunter around. The Cheyenne river which dumps into the main resevoir was my favorite place to call. I wish I had been into the picture taking back then. Have a lot of fond memories of those days. It can still be good, but not nearly as many coyotes. Big resevoirs like what Howler hunts on can be very dangeous like he said. Lot's of springs and pressure ridges. I have had some close calls myself, but never have fallen through. I hardly ever venture out on the lake anymore. Posts: 141 | From: Pierre,S.D. | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged Wiley E Knows what it's all about Member # 108 posted February 04, 2009 04:14 PM                    Nice pics Howler. Don't know what it is but those coyotes sure like running on the ice when they are visible for miles. Used to spend a lot of time on the ice in the Akaska and Mobridge area as a kid. I can remember following a vehicle track on the ice that went over a 3' ice heave (pressure ridge). Someone must have been driving around out there at night because you couldn't miss the heave. You could walk to the edge and see a red Ford pickup lying at the bottom in about 30' - 40' of water. The ice needs to be black, clear, and at least 2' before you'll catch me on it and I drive slow. I remember being out ice fishing and having the shoreline open up like in your picture. Luckily, we made it out. My dad watched my uncle fall through and he made it out. Remember another pickup that broke through a heave and we had to jack him up and get him out with bridge planks. Lots of guys lived on the edge where I grew up. Some of my friends were out ice fishing when a big DC7 or DC9 flew in and landed in a field near Akaska. The plane was loaded with marijuana. It came in before dark and the landing lights in the field made the locals suspicious. Local law enforcement deputized some of the local ranchers who let the air out of the plane tires until law enforcement could get there. Good times on the ice. ~SH~ [ February 04, 2009, 04:20 PM: Message edited by: Wiley E ] Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged J_hun Knows what it's all about Member # 872 posted February 04, 2009 06:27 PM                       I remember when the pot plane landed out there. Those ranchers are lucky they didn't get shot. That was a big bust and they burned all the pot bales in the city dump right here in Pierre. One time I was up on the cheyenne hunting coyotes on my atv. I was crossing and was out in the middle. All of a sudden a big DC-10 was making a low level run right down the river. Scared the crap out of me. When it got to the mouth it took off straight up and was out of sight in no time. Someone told me they practiced making low level runs to stay under enemy radar. Maybe it was another pot plane. My boys just called me and they are coming back to do some ice fishing up at Minnecongui. They are bringing the big ice shack and plan on pulling it out on the Cheyenne to spend a couple nights. Just one more thing for me to worry about. Posts: 141 | From: Pierre,S.D. | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged Andy L HI, I'M THE NEW MODERATOR OF THE CENTRAL MISSOURI FORUM, PULL MY FINGER! Member # 642 posted February 04, 2009 07:38 PM                   Those are cool pics and looks like a hell of a hunt. Congrats. -------------------- Andy Posts: 2645 | From: Central Missouri | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged 3 Toes El Guapo Member # 1327 posted February 05, 2009 06:28 AM                   You guys are friggin nutty. I wouldn't drive out on that stuff for nothing. I can't think of many things that bother me worse than the thought of falling through that ice. -------------------- Violence may not be the best option.... But it is still an option. Posts: 1034 | From: out yonder | Registered: Apr 2007  |  IP: Logged Andy L HI, I'M THE NEW MODERATOR OF THE CENTRAL MISSOURI FORUM, PULL MY FINGER! Member # 642 posted February 05, 2009 06:40 AM                   Cal, I was trying to be reserved, yeah me being reserved lmao. But I was thinkin the same thing. Aint no fuckin way Im drivin on that ice.... -------------------- Andy Posts: 2645 | From: Central Missouri | Registered: Apr 2005  |  IP: Logged Leonard HMFIC Member # 2 posted February 05, 2009 08:16 AM                       That makes three of us, and I have rescued a guy that fell through before...should have let the dummy drown. Nah, but it was risky as hell for me, as well. Several years ago, there was a real tragic deal on Convict Lake up in the Sierras. Don't remember how many, three(?) including the rescuer, they were left there until the spring thaw. Good hunting. LB edit: from google: http://www.thearticleworks.com/convict_lake_1.htm edit: Convict Lake is just about my favorite for trout fishing. Beautiful place. The escaped convicts the lake is named for, were hanged in Bishop. [ February 05, 2009, 08:39 AM: Message edited by: Leonard ] -------------------- EL BEE Knows It All and Done It All. Don't piss me off! Posts: 32361 | From: Upland, CA | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged TA17Rem Hello, I'm the legendary Tim Anderson, Southern Minneesota Know it all Member # 794 posted February 05, 2009 09:24 AM                    When my Dad was still around we would go up to the lake and ice fish and stay 4-5 days at a time. At nite when the temps dropped it really got to be interesting. More ice wouldbe forming at nite and you would hear it cracking. The crack would start at one end of the lake and work its way to the other end, it sounded pretty cool. Also on a really cold nite the fish house wouldbe moveing up and down from the ice shifting and air bubbles from underneath the ice.. After awhile you would get used to it and sleep right through most of it except when a new crack formed right next to the ice-fish house.. In the mournings you would awakeing to the smell of ham and eggs being cooked on the fish house stove 100 ft away.. And then the bite would start and you could hear the rattles sound off, some would rattle slow and you new it was a small fish and once in awhile you would hear one run continues which was a big northern pike makeing a run for it.. Ah the good ol days, sure miss them.. -------------------- What if I told you, the left wing and right wing both belong to same bird! Posts: 5613 | From: S.D. | Registered: Jan 2006  |  IP: Logged J_hun Knows what it's all about Member # 872 posted February 05, 2009 12:04 PM                       Your right Tim. Those were the good ole days. Now things are soo f===ked up. Everything is so fast pace now and everybody in a frickin hurry. Back then word of mouth was good as gold. Now if you don't have everything in writing and go through a lawyer, you might just be shit out of luck. I'd dearly go back to the days of oil lanterns,wood stoves, and wool blankets. Posts: 141 | From: Pierre,S.D. | Registered: Jun 2006  |  IP: Logged Wiley E Knows what it's all about Member # 108 posted February 06, 2009 01:58 PM                    3 Toes: "You guys are friggin nutty. I wouldn't drive out on that stuff for nothing. I can't think of many things that bother me worse than the thought of falling through that ice." If it's been cold for an extended period and you have 2' to 3' of clear ice there's not much to worry about. It's when the weather starts warming up, the ice starts crystalizing, or if you have snow covered ice that you need to really be careful. We usually had someone ride on the hood of the pickup or walk ahead with an ice bar to detect any changes in ice depth. We were usually more careful than most. Most of the time you only had to watch for pressure ridges or ice heaves and watch the shoreline for any changes in water depth. Once in a while you would come across weak ice from the current or springs that you'd have to stay clear of. When guys get into trouble is when they follow another track without considering the weather or water changes since that track was made, not paying attention to pressure ridges, driving on snow covered ice or water covered ice. Following other vehicle tracks has got a lot of guys into trouble. We didn't have problems until we had warming trends and tried to get a few more days of ice fishing in. That's when you start taking foolish risks. Most of the time the risks were taken at the shorelines as you left the ice. Occasionally the water pushed up on the shoreline while you were out on the ice. Some coyote hunters would burn across open water between ice patches with a snowmobile. Now that's crazy. ~SH~ Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged Wiley E Knows what it's all about Member # 108 posted February 06, 2009 02:05 PM                    J Hun: "That was a big bust and they burned all the pot bales in the city dump right here in Pierre". I heard there was quite a crowd downwind. LOL! Everyone had the munchies. ~SH~ [ February 06, 2009, 02:06 PM: Message edited by: Wiley E ] Posts: 853 | From: Kadoka, S.D | Registered: Feb 2003  |  IP: Logged howler Knows what it's all about Member # 197 posted February 06, 2009 07:01 PM                    On Dec 17th 1976 I fell thru the Ice with a brand new 1976 GMC Serria 3/4 ton 4X4, It happens here 4 or 5 times a year. I'd say about 80% of the guys who go out on the Ice use atv's now, For a 100 bucks I doned on a wet suit and went down to tie on the chain to get it back up. water was very clear about like the carabeian only about 60 degree's diff in water temps. -------------------- Powder River let'r Buck Posts: 53 | From: Glasgow, Montana | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged brad h Knows what it's all about Member # 57 posted February 06, 2009 07:49 PM                    The only thought that bothers me more than falling through ice on still water is falling through ice over a deep river. I've noticed a few ice fishermen on the Yellowstone here in town this year for the first time. They had a couple makeshift shacks they left down there for about a week. When the weather warmed up further west one day the river rose through their ice holes and immediately left everything anchored in 6 inches of ice for the next couple days. They got packed up and haven't been back since. Sorry I couldn't break free this year howler. I'll be in touch before next season. Brad Posts: 346 | From: Glendive MT | Registered: Jan 2003  |  IP: Logged howler Knows what it's all about Member # 197 posted February 07, 2009 07:45 AM                    Hello Brad, we will get togeather sometime. by the way that big Male in the photo above came in using your antler call you gave me, I had been using some rabbit distress and not having much luck, So i brought out that open reed antler call and started to use it, sometime during the session I bit down on the end of the reed and really went to a high pitch and with in a few minutes 2 came right in. for some reason it seemed they liked the high pitched rabbit squeal. -------------------- Powder River let'r Buck Posts: 53 | From: Glasgow, Montana | Registered: May 2003  |  IP: Logged 6mm284 Knows what it's all about Member # 1129 posted February 11, 2009 09:24 AM                   Fell thru ice on the river once, caught the edges of the hole with my rifle to keep from going under the ice and down stream. Pulled myself out and keep the hell off the snow covered ice on the river now. Posts: 198 | From: N46 06 E91 11 | Registered: Feb 2007  |  IP: Logged

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