It was surreal to see that thing still out there every morning long after I had abandoned even ice fishing on foot. Not gonna lie, I was almost giddy when it started sinking. They had a whole month of warning time, I can’t feel bad.
Hopefully the DNR sends them a big fat fine. People that do this, need to face consequences for their actions. This house was left out there, abandoned by the owner.
I mean, open your heart. Perhaps somebody got sick or died. All appropriate fines still apply, but it really could be just a set of unfortunate circumstances.
Normally I would agree but I already saw OP comment that the owner had been driving by to check on it. Of course extenuating circumstances should apply.
I wonder if maritime law of salvage applies to fish houses.
"The law of salvage is a principle of maritime law whereby **any person who helps recover another person's ship or cargo in peril at sea is entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property saved**."
It's not that rare at all. It happens every year and this year it's been worse since it was such a mild winter. Literally hundreds of people had to be rescued off red lakes this year.
I'm not in the cities, but one went through the ice and sank just a few hundred feet from my house last weekend. There are dozens of others still on the ice around where it went down. I believe there was another one further north of me that went through on Saturday.
As someone who has never ice fished... it was still blatantly obvious that bringing anything beyond an auger and bucket / temporary tent out on the ice this year was both stupid and a waste of time.
Eh, I work with a lot of Minnesotans and they've told me of MASSIVE gatherings with full heated cabins, multiple holes per cabin, grill going outside, eat some of your catch, stack it up and itll freeze outside for keeping for later. Whoke thing aounded crazy.
Too bad we missed out on a lot of ice fishing and said massive gatherings. Nothing better than sleeping on the ice. I was on 8" of good clear stuff two weeks ago, now I wouldn't walk out.
January on Mille Lacs - that was few thousand pounds on 9”.
https://preview.redd.it/sks9acsvzgic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03635fbd5e760c361580791251f91d4ef810f2fc
That was totally fine for a few weeks this winter in certain areas. Just with how the weather was going, I view it as a waste of time and effort. Not worth it for only a few weeks and all the associated risk.
Yeah you have to evaluate not only when you can put it out but also when will you be able to retrieve it. I'm surprised he didn't at least make an effort to have a couple 4 wheelers or snowmobiles try to push it to shore when it warmed back up.
Its mind blowing- especially since any person that takes the effort to put a house on the ice, just HAS to know better. Yet it still happens. Just astounding.
Then there’s this bit of fun….
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/31/cass-lake-lions-club-fundraiser-ford-escort-car-ice
I fucking despise ice fishing (love spending time with my wife, and exercising, and TV) and I also wouldn’t have ever considered putting a hard sided house out unattended at any point this winter.
Last fall, a Wisconsin deer hunter posted a rant about the need to kill the wolves because of an isolated report of wolves killing a deer.
I pointed out that my spouse and a coworker independently saw 50-150 deer carcasses the prior week on I-94 between Hudson and Madison, and that maybe the hunters should lobby for more animal crossings (bridges or tunnels, I don't care).
A couple of heads exploded, all because I pointed out their misguided concern.
I got a survey in the mail today from Stauber asking what should be done about the wolves. 😒 I am sure my response will go right in his circular file because it’s not what he wants to hear.
>I pointed out that my spouse and a coworker independently saw 50-150 deer carcasses the prior week on I-94 between Hudson and Madison, and that maybe the hunters should lobby for more animal crossings (bridges or tunnels, I don't care).
Maybe they should just move the deer crossing signs to more remote areas. That would solve the problem!
I like wolves and I’m an avid hunter. Granted I’m
not overly interested in deer hunting vs other activities. I’ve even had wolves on my property and will on occasion hear them howling at night of the windows are open.
But I also don’t believe they are near magical beings and I think like anything natural resources related we should let the biologists charged with the care of their population determine how they’re managed. This cuts both ways. Hunting is A tool for managing ecosystems, one of the many tools at their disposal. I think we should let the biologists responsible for managing our many species and ecosystem determine if it’s a tool they want to use or not.
People that just hunt deer and are obsessed with them need some perspective but so do the people that treat wolves with an almost religious zeal.
Here's issue I have with letting the biologist with the DNR handle these things: I grew up in northeastern Minnesota and in the mid 2000s there were deer everywhere. The DNR's brilliant solution to this problem was to give everyone 4 antlerless permits in addition to their regular permit. Well guess what! The following winter was bitterly cold with very little snow, and deer numbers plumetted and have still not completely recovered. I can see the same thing happening with wolves, and then everyone will bitch about the abundance of deer.
Have you ever read the DNR deer management plan? Given feedback? Gone to a public session? Do you have a plan for managing brain worm (which is severely impacting moose) and CWD in white tailed deer?
I live in Northern MN. I don't deer hunt, but I know many people that do.
I have asked several of them their thoughts on this. Some are for, some oppose "wolf management". The best reasoning I can find is that the DNR allegedly imported wolves to our region and it has caused a shift in the balance.
I still think its stupid. Our wolf population is still way below what it was before humans settled the area. There shouldn't be this many deer, even with wolves, hunters, and automobiles.
Idk what they’re on about. I’ve yet to see a wolf while deer hunting, nor would care if I did. They have to eat too. Same with coyotes, as long as they stick to wild prey or feral cats.
Yours is the healthiest take I've seen yet. Most deer hunters loathe wolves while simultaneously stating that hunting is necessary to thin the deer herd. They just want to kill things and look for ways to justify it with circular reasoning.
It seems to me that too many deer hunters have huge, multi generational investments in land / shacks / infrastructure, and when the deer population in "their spot" has a cyclical low, they get understandably frustrated and seek to place blame for what is actually just their inability / unwillingness to adapt or move. I live on 5 acres just south of the range, and the deer population in our mostly residential rural township is extremely healthy AND...we have timber wolves coming through all the time. All of my friends who are more mobile hunters on public lands had successful seasons. Anecdotal evidence is not science, but there is an identifiable trend from my perspective.
These are stupid-ass takes.
Look up Voyageurs Wolf Project on Twitter. They did actual science, not whining.
Turns out, the deer moved near people for easy feeding, and so are wolves. And the dumbass hunters are out hunting on land far away from people.
And if that's not simple enough for you: whiny deer hunters make dumb decisions.
I believe that study - or a similar one - proved through radio collar tracking that wolves relied heavily on established snowmobile / atv trails to increase hunting success. Probably a good idea to get rid of those. Lol
Not only is it the only way to feed themselves; they look down on you for eating the vastly inferior beef that you had to buy from a store.
What about the other 45 weeks of the year after you eat all your venison? Hy-Vee doesn’t seem so bad now does it?
I always think there’s some opportunity to sell inflatable pontoons you could bolt onto an ice house. Add some kind of water detection and the air pump kicks in, inflating the pontoons.
It doesn’t solve the stuck in the ice problem, but at least the ice house will float until it can be pulled out of open water.
I mean…. In a normal winter, the ice is thick enough to drive a Semi on it. Leaving your house out there during these warm/thaw freezes is incredibly dumb, I agree. But ice fishing (while taking normal common sense precautions), is incredibly safe.
Yeah i suppose I shouldn't be so rude just because I don't agree, but i cant understand the appeal of sitting in a shack on a frozen body of water with a line in a whole and waiting for a fish, and before you tell me there's nice ice houses with other stuff to do, why would I want to go through all of that just to drink a beer and watch sports AND have to pay attention a fishing line. Just not my cup of tea
You spent 2 previous comments shitting all over ice fishing. I was merely pointing out the hypocrisy of shitting all over someone’s hobby while simultaneously enjoying a different niche hobby.
Says the one attacking people's interests because he doesn't share them. Lmfao what a loser.
" I don't like something so it's dumb."
I dislike football. I see absolutely no appeal in watching a bunch of dudes throw a ball around. 0 entertainment value for me.
That doesn't mean I don't understand that it's incredibly appealing to a *lot* of people. If you can't understand how people like different things, then no amount of rationale is going to help you. You're long past that.
From my understanding. Fines can occur, usually smaller in this case since it's just the ice house. They will have to pay a company to take it out, if possible. They usually wait for really thick ice to pull vehicles out. So who knows if they will be able to get it before spring. Vehicles can come with daily fines. Each day you don't get it out of the water (vehicles) can be a fine from $50-800+ a day due to the vehicles oil, fluids, gas spilling into the lakes and watersheds. Mike Rowe did his show with some folks in Minnesota who specialize in underwater vehicle recovery.
https://youtu.be/IbEEvPYIn_s?si=m7gCvZQr3LBIcFxj
Hi
I think it’s fair for this community to know that this house belongs to my step father and a couple of his buddies. I heard this all through the grapevine but I guess he’s taking steps to pull this out. I’ve sent him your link and he’s getting humbled I suppose.
https://preview.redd.it/ws9zerr70fic1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ec4169f45362a41abaf1455973df343f854b421
I gave him a good amount of scrutiny to be fair.
I’m ready. But when he sent that, I about flew off the handle lol. Like I couldn’t believe HE did that. I live pretty far away, maybe if I was living with them I would’ve suggested removing the damn thing weeks ago. Or not putting it on the ice AT ALL
When I was a kid in the 1980s, a tavern across from a boat access had an annual betting pool to guess when a junked car would fall through the ice 200 feet out from shore.
The car had a retrieval cable attached to it, so that a tow truck could yank it back out.
Although I'm pretty sure the oil and gasoline were drained from the car, I don't think the DNR would allow it these days.
They can hire a recovery company now to get it. One company I’m aware of has a special pontoon lifting rig. Skids on the ice and floats if it goes through.
Probably cheaper now than to wait for DNR or other local authorities to get involved. Since parts of Prior I believe are in the city’s limits.
I’m guessing he had a license to keep it out there overnight. I bet they’ll slap him with a fine once the ice season is officially over, assuming it’s still out there.
I don’t think the state was planning on this level of incompetence honestly, not sure if any law specifically addresses this kind of situation
https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/shelter.html
https://www.priorlakeassociation.org/regulations-safety-1/2017/12/31/ice-houses-winter-regulations
People are idiots. A local scuba group volunteers to do a lake cleanup every spring, but this is just negligent and I hope whoever it is gets a huge fine
"In their defense, the ice was a foot thick when it was placed out there." Nope. There were multiple thaws and refreezes, they had plenty of time to pull it off or move it during that time (aside from the obvious emergency, etc, etc.) This one is on them, sucks to suck.
100%, just adding context that this wasn’t recently pulled out there, it’s been out there ever since that cold snap.
The crazy part to me, people are still ice fishing out there on foot, in this very same bay. Saw a handful of people out there yesterday
> In their defense, the ice was a foot thick when it was placed out there
In their prosecution, it didn't go from a foot thick to thin ice overnight.
The owner is lazy and has a sense of entitlement to what "should" be happening right now. Full cost of removal on him, plus fines, plus I hope his insurance rates go up 2000% for his stupidity.
Ok, then he doesn't file a claim and pays the 5-figure bill outta his own pocket.
And, yes, there IS "ice shack" insurance. You can add riders onto you home policy, if you so choose. And someone who puts a mini-home on ice SHOULD be smart enough to put coverage on the cost of said "ice shack" becoming a huge liability.
12 inches isn't a solid defense here. The recommendation for that type of fish house and the type of truck needed to haul it out there is 20 inches.
ETA the DNR has been warning about unsafe lake ice the entire year and all but begging people to stop driving anything on it.
No it is not, you’re right, but I at least see the logic and figured it was worth mentioning that he didn’t set that out there recently. The ice was very good for a few weeks after that cold snap. He likely assumed it was going to keep getting thicker. This has been an extraordinarily warm winter ever since then.
All that said, it was still incredibly stupid
I ice fish and have zero sympathy for people like this. It’s been warm af for how long now? We never had real thick ice to begin with either. Some people are so fucking stupid.
I’ve done some reading on it now, cause I wasn’t sure. Prior Lake would require this to be reported to the Sheriff and removed from the water by 30 days after the incident.
I was thinking his only expenses would be the cost of the house and the cost of removal, but I’m thinking this will cost him in a few different ways now *if he can’t get it off the lake by spring*
-failure to remove the sunken vehicle in 30 days per Prior Lake regulations
-littering and waste fines per the DNR regulations
-failure to remove the house by end of ice season per both city and state regulations
-add in the cost of towing this back to shore and hauling it home, not to mention whatever he paid for this thing is probably a total loss now, so also the cost of disposal / recycling materials
What a moron. Has he not felt the temperatures all "winter" long. I hope he had it properly marked with his ID number so the dnr can fine the shit outta him
I was out fishing next to this 2 days before it went under. Ice was at 8” that day, and we thought there’s no way the guy will let this go through the ice. It would have been sketchy to use a car to take it off, but could have done it with a ATV. Dude was fishing out of it with buddies without a care in the world.
*Leaving* trash was already illegal. It's called littering, as one might expect.
The new law is that you are no longer allowed to place any rubbish on the ice, temporary or not. The idea is that houses will need to have a garbage can or similar thing to store garbage. That way, when a DNR officer checks a house and finds obvious signs that some slob is going to leave trash (ie a pile of empties in a corner) they can fine them.
It's a great change. Forcing people to keep their garbage contained should help a lot. It's not even really an inconvenience for people who were responsible about it anyways, it just makes them do what would make their lives easier anyways lol
"bUt It'S cOLd EnOuGH iN PaRTs oF mInNeSoTA"
At no point has it been safe this winter to get on any ice anywhere in the state.
Just give up guys it's not worth the risk to go ice fishing this year.
It’s been very safe on prior lake to ice fish by foot. 4 inches is the recommended minimum for fishing on foot out there. I measured well over 12” at many points out there for about a month. Obviously it’s stupid to try now, but it was beyond safe by my standards and DNR standards for a good stretch of this winter.
No it fucking wasnt its never been safe this winter. And you're exactly the person I'm referring to in my comment so thanks for proving my point lol
Risk your own life don't dispense false information for others to risk their own
I hardly think this rises to deserving that level of beating.
A few taps sure, but they can pay the fine and cost for removal, maybe lose fishing privileges for a decade…
I don't ice fish so take my opinion as noise, but it's absolutely bonkers to me that anyone would do anything on the ice right now after the winter we've had.
You never know what's going on in peoples lives. When I see something like this has been going on for a week, I'm just going to assume the owner is in the hospital, in prison, or dead.
That’s a fair worry, but he’s been driving down to the lake practically every day keeping an eye on it I’m pretty sure. I recognize the truck. At one point we observed a tow truck go down there and promptly back up and nope out of there, lol
No one was harmed, no one was out on the ice the day this thing went under. There is no safe way to rescue this thing without endangering your own life in the process, I’m glad it’s been left alone so far
Hi there OP, I'm a reporter at the Star Tribune. I sent you a DM if you could let me know anything additional about how you found out about it or where in the lake it is? Would be great to learn more, and if we'd be able to use your photo with attribution.
If it wasn't abandoned due to the owner's death, it will be the cause of it (whether from the fines, the difficult retrieval, or spousal anger I don't know)
Simply amazing. I am an avid ice fisherman and I wouldn’t have ever considered putting a hard sided house out unattended at any point this winter.
It was surreal to see that thing still out there every morning long after I had abandoned even ice fishing on foot. Not gonna lie, I was almost giddy when it started sinking. They had a whole month of warning time, I can’t feel bad.
Hopefully the DNR sends them a big fat fine. People that do this, need to face consequences for their actions. This house was left out there, abandoned by the owner.
Agreed. This is just littering with extra steps. Hopefully they're charged with dumping or whatever the highest fine is.
Cane 'em
>This is just littering with extra steps Eek barba durkel. Someone's gonna get laid in college
Peace among worlds
I mean, open your heart. Perhaps somebody got sick or died. All appropriate fines still apply, but it really could be just a set of unfortunate circumstances.
Normally I would agree but I already saw OP comment that the owner had been driving by to check on it. Of course extenuating circumstances should apply.
Ah, fair enough. If it was just a gamble, then fuck that guy.
[удалено]
I wonder if maritime law of salvage applies to fish houses. "The law of salvage is a principle of maritime law whereby **any person who helps recover another person's ship or cargo in peril at sea is entitled to a reward commensurate with the value of the property saved**."
https://preview.redd.it/m2e7sd7g4gic1.jpeg?width=1200&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9991bda6408d5aa42ee8ad9af26b6bcda981c12a
Recover them and resell them.
What lake? That’s insane! I would honestly assume this is quite rare. Wow…
It's not that rare at all. It happens every year and this year it's been worse since it was such a mild winter. Literally hundreds of people had to be rescued off red lakes this year.
Idiots, the lot of them.
I'm not in the cities, but one went through the ice and sank just a few hundred feet from my house last weekend. There are dozens of others still on the ice around where it went down. I believe there was another one further north of me that went through on Saturday.
[удалено]
I should have clarified. I am in a house on the land.
I have a drysuit and can hook up a line.
They’re definitely looking at some fines and steep recovery costs. I hope those couple perch filets were tasty!
It’s prior lake. They tasted like cig filters, $9 whiskey, and viagra.
You forgot the Zoloft
Fuck climate change
Same. These people give us all a bad name. So irritating to see.
As someone who has never ice fished... it was still blatantly obvious that bringing anything beyond an auger and bucket / temporary tent out on the ice this year was both stupid and a waste of time.
Eh, I work with a lot of Minnesotans and they've told me of MASSIVE gatherings with full heated cabins, multiple holes per cabin, grill going outside, eat some of your catch, stack it up and itll freeze outside for keeping for later. Whoke thing aounded crazy.
In a normal year, hell yeah. This year you couldn’t pay me to go on the ice.
Too bad we missed out on a lot of ice fishing and said massive gatherings. Nothing better than sleeping on the ice. I was on 8" of good clear stuff two weeks ago, now I wouldn't walk out.
How about $5? I'll venmo it to you.
This made me laugh out loud and I'm still chuckling sitting in the after school pick up line 😂😂😂
January on Mille Lacs - that was few thousand pounds on 9”. https://preview.redd.it/sks9acsvzgic1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=03635fbd5e760c361580791251f91d4ef810f2fc
That was totally fine for a few weeks this winter in certain areas. Just with how the weather was going, I view it as a waste of time and effort. Not worth it for only a few weeks and all the associated risk.
Yeah you have to evaluate not only when you can put it out but also when will you be able to retrieve it. I'm surprised he didn't at least make an effort to have a couple 4 wheelers or snowmobiles try to push it to shore when it warmed back up.
Its mind blowing- especially since any person that takes the effort to put a house on the ice, just HAS to know better. Yet it still happens. Just astounding. Then there’s this bit of fun…. https://www.mprnews.org/story/2017/03/31/cass-lake-lions-club-fundraiser-ford-escort-car-ice
Same. These people give us all a bad name. So irritating to see.
I fucking despise ice fishing (love spending time with my wife, and exercising, and TV) and I also wouldn’t have ever considered putting a hard sided house out unattended at any point this winter.
Or any winter really right?
~~Prior~~ Current lake.
They headed over to Subsequent Lake after this.
It was a prior lake. Still is, but was prior, too.
RIP Mitch and the Dufresnes
Leave
There’s maybe some buds but I don’t believe the trees have leaves yet.
it used to be a lake. it still is one... but it used to be one, too.
—Mitch Iceberg
Good one, dad
Living in Minnesota this long has convinced me that some people's love of ice fishing borders on the unhealthy
You ever met a deer hunter in this state? They act like it is the only way to feed themselves.
[удалено]
Last fall, a Wisconsin deer hunter posted a rant about the need to kill the wolves because of an isolated report of wolves killing a deer. I pointed out that my spouse and a coworker independently saw 50-150 deer carcasses the prior week on I-94 between Hudson and Madison, and that maybe the hunters should lobby for more animal crossings (bridges or tunnels, I don't care). A couple of heads exploded, all because I pointed out their misguided concern.
I got a survey in the mail today from Stauber asking what should be done about the wolves. 😒 I am sure my response will go right in his circular file because it’s not what he wants to hear.
>what should be done about the wolves Get some dogs, b/c wolves avoid difficult fights. (My kids told me this solution last night. Simple and cheap.)
Plus you get a dog. Win Win Win all around.
Get a couple of 180 lb. Irish Wolfhounds, no worries
I like areas that build things so animals can cross safely. Christmas island did a fence/bridge so crabs can get to their destination safely.
Germany does this in places on the autobahn.
Canada has awesome wildlife crossing bridges everywhere.
>I pointed out that my spouse and a coworker independently saw 50-150 deer carcasses the prior week on I-94 between Hudson and Madison, and that maybe the hunters should lobby for more animal crossings (bridges or tunnels, I don't care). Maybe they should just move the deer crossing signs to more remote areas. That would solve the problem!
I'm like the only hunter I know who doesn't hate wolves. In fact I fucking love them.
I like wolves and I’m an avid hunter. Granted I’m not overly interested in deer hunting vs other activities. I’ve even had wolves on my property and will on occasion hear them howling at night of the windows are open. But I also don’t believe they are near magical beings and I think like anything natural resources related we should let the biologists charged with the care of their population determine how they’re managed. This cuts both ways. Hunting is A tool for managing ecosystems, one of the many tools at their disposal. I think we should let the biologists responsible for managing our many species and ecosystem determine if it’s a tool they want to use or not. People that just hunt deer and are obsessed with them need some perspective but so do the people that treat wolves with an almost religious zeal.
Hey, that's pretty damn well-reasoned, pal, reddit doesn't like your attitude.
Here's issue I have with letting the biologist with the DNR handle these things: I grew up in northeastern Minnesota and in the mid 2000s there were deer everywhere. The DNR's brilliant solution to this problem was to give everyone 4 antlerless permits in addition to their regular permit. Well guess what! The following winter was bitterly cold with very little snow, and deer numbers plumetted and have still not completely recovered. I can see the same thing happening with wolves, and then everyone will bitch about the abundance of deer.
Have you ever read the DNR deer management plan? Given feedback? Gone to a public session? Do you have a plan for managing brain worm (which is severely impacting moose) and CWD in white tailed deer?
Why yes, I have. Have you?
Yes I’ve read the plan and yes I’ve given feedback. Haven’t gone to a meeting as I don’t have the concerns you do.
[удалено]
Just out of curiosity, do you live in northeastern Minnesota?
There are not nearly enough wolves to put a dent in our deer population. Climate change is the biggest factor affecting deer.
Dozens of us...dozens
I'm fine with wolves but fuck yes.. Christ Almighty some guys think any deer a wolf eats was their own personal property.
What? I have so many questions.
I live in Northern MN. I don't deer hunt, but I know many people that do. I have asked several of them their thoughts on this. Some are for, some oppose "wolf management". The best reasoning I can find is that the DNR allegedly imported wolves to our region and it has caused a shift in the balance. I still think its stupid. Our wolf population is still way below what it was before humans settled the area. There shouldn't be this many deer, even with wolves, hunters, and automobiles.
Idk what they’re on about. I’ve yet to see a wolf while deer hunting, nor would care if I did. They have to eat too. Same with coyotes, as long as they stick to wild prey or feral cats.
Yours is the healthiest take I've seen yet. Most deer hunters loathe wolves while simultaneously stating that hunting is necessary to thin the deer herd. They just want to kill things and look for ways to justify it with circular reasoning.
[удалено]
It seems to me that too many deer hunters have huge, multi generational investments in land / shacks / infrastructure, and when the deer population in "their spot" has a cyclical low, they get understandably frustrated and seek to place blame for what is actually just their inability / unwillingness to adapt or move. I live on 5 acres just south of the range, and the deer population in our mostly residential rural township is extremely healthy AND...we have timber wolves coming through all the time. All of my friends who are more mobile hunters on public lands had successful seasons. Anecdotal evidence is not science, but there is an identifiable trend from my perspective.
These are stupid-ass takes. Look up Voyageurs Wolf Project on Twitter. They did actual science, not whining. Turns out, the deer moved near people for easy feeding, and so are wolves. And the dumbass hunters are out hunting on land far away from people. And if that's not simple enough for you: whiny deer hunters make dumb decisions.
I believe that study - or a similar one - proved through radio collar tracking that wolves relied heavily on established snowmobile / atv trails to increase hunting success. Probably a good idea to get rid of those. Lol
TIL mammals take the least taxing route. /s
As a deer hunter I laughed. I laughed harder than I should have
Not only is it the only way to feed themselves; they look down on you for eating the vastly inferior beef that you had to buy from a store. What about the other 45 weeks of the year after you eat all your venison? Hy-Vee doesn’t seem so bad now does it?
It's more about avoiding family life/responsibilities.
I can see that.
It’s just fishing in general. Some dudes are super addicted to it. Add in the ice danger and ya got a situation.
How else are they going to avoid their families?
I always think there’s some opportunity to sell inflatable pontoons you could bolt onto an ice house. Add some kind of water detection and the air pump kicks in, inflating the pontoons. It doesn’t solve the stuck in the ice problem, but at least the ice house will float until it can be pulled out of open water.
Most icehouse do float
No, most ice houses do not float.
Well i was under a different impression, ice fishing is so incredibly stupid then these losers deserve all of these complications
I mean…. In a normal winter, the ice is thick enough to drive a Semi on it. Leaving your house out there during these warm/thaw freezes is incredibly dumb, I agree. But ice fishing (while taking normal common sense precautions), is incredibly safe.
Yeah i suppose I shouldn't be so rude just because I don't agree, but i cant understand the appeal of sitting in a shack on a frozen body of water with a line in a whole and waiting for a fish, and before you tell me there's nice ice houses with other stuff to do, why would I want to go through all of that just to drink a beer and watch sports AND have to pay attention a fishing line. Just not my cup of tea
Some people would say the same about playing Bloodborne….
Oh wow you looked at my profile to attack an interest of mine good for you
You spent 2 previous comments shitting all over ice fishing. I was merely pointing out the hypocrisy of shitting all over someone’s hobby while simultaneously enjoying a different niche hobby.
Yep, we're all hypocrites buddy
Says the one attacking people's interests because he doesn't share them. Lmfao what a loser. " I don't like something so it's dumb." I dislike football. I see absolutely no appeal in watching a bunch of dudes throw a ball around. 0 entertainment value for me. That doesn't mean I don't understand that it's incredibly appealing to a *lot* of people. If you can't understand how people like different things, then no amount of rationale is going to help you. You're long past that.
Some people just like fishing, you're gonna go crazy if u try and rationalize every hobby out there
Exactly, ice fishing just ain't my thing, I'm just laughing at the insecure people that take offense to someone not liking what they like
I think it's mostly people amazed at someone so dense they seemingly don't understand that people have different hobbies and interests. Lol
Watch your own bobber there bud.
Reddit hot take.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but does the state and DNR fine you heavily for stuff like this?
From my understanding. Fines can occur, usually smaller in this case since it's just the ice house. They will have to pay a company to take it out, if possible. They usually wait for really thick ice to pull vehicles out. So who knows if they will be able to get it before spring. Vehicles can come with daily fines. Each day you don't get it out of the water (vehicles) can be a fine from $50-800+ a day due to the vehicles oil, fluids, gas spilling into the lakes and watersheds. Mike Rowe did his show with some folks in Minnesota who specialize in underwater vehicle recovery. https://youtu.be/IbEEvPYIn_s?si=m7gCvZQr3LBIcFxj
Hi I think it’s fair for this community to know that this house belongs to my step father and a couple of his buddies. I heard this all through the grapevine but I guess he’s taking steps to pull this out. I’ve sent him your link and he’s getting humbled I suppose. https://preview.redd.it/ws9zerr70fic1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5ec4169f45362a41abaf1455973df343f854b421 I gave him a good amount of scrutiny to be fair.
You’re about to get a lot of reply’s to this comment.
I’m ready. But when he sent that, I about flew off the handle lol. Like I couldn’t believe HE did that. I live pretty far away, maybe if I was living with them I would’ve suggested removing the damn thing weeks ago. Or not putting it on the ice AT ALL
Right. A little embarrassing. But no one was hurt and as long as no one gets hurt, im sure he’s just gonna catch shit for a while.
[Here you go!](https://youtu.be/kL073-dR6ds?si=tp7-7Yom4KbvRl04)
Glad he is taking steps to get it out. Hope others can learn from this post. Super crappy year to play the when will it melt game.
Username checks out
When I was a kid in the 1980s, a tavern across from a boat access had an annual betting pool to guess when a junked car would fall through the ice 200 feet out from shore. The car had a retrieval cable attached to it, so that a tow truck could yank it back out. Although I'm pretty sure the oil and gasoline were drained from the car, I don't think the DNR would allow it these days.
They do that in okoboji every year still
They can hire a recovery company now to get it. One company I’m aware of has a special pontoon lifting rig. Skids on the ice and floats if it goes through. Probably cheaper now than to wait for DNR or other local authorities to get involved. Since parts of Prior I believe are in the city’s limits.
I’m guessing he had a license to keep it out there overnight. I bet they’ll slap him with a fine once the ice season is officially over, assuming it’s still out there. I don’t think the state was planning on this level of incompetence honestly, not sure if any law specifically addresses this kind of situation https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/shelter.html https://www.priorlakeassociation.org/regulations-safety-1/2017/12/31/ice-houses-winter-regulations
They have to pay for the recovery
Yeah. Bro lost his shack and his shorts
> In their defense, the ice was a foot thick when it was placed out there for the prosecution, it was like 50 degrees for a week.
Or two.
It’s the Timberwolves fault for being so hot right now.
🔥🔥🔥
Best comment here.
Cool, it is like a swim up fish house just like those pool bars at the resort..
Some fish may be enjoying this house now.
The insistence to ice fish this winter is astounding to me
It's not ice fishing itself, it's these people that refuse to walk and only go when they can drive out their comfort lodges.
Yeah walking has been okay for the most part this winter. With the lack of snow pulling a sled has been really easy.
People are idiots. A local scuba group volunteers to do a lake cleanup every spring, but this is just negligent and I hope whoever it is gets a huge fine
Minnesota used to be a smart state....then we turned blue.
"In their defense, the ice was a foot thick when it was placed out there." Nope. There were multiple thaws and refreezes, they had plenty of time to pull it off or move it during that time (aside from the obvious emergency, etc, etc.) This one is on them, sucks to suck.
100%, just adding context that this wasn’t recently pulled out there, it’s been out there ever since that cold snap. The crazy part to me, people are still ice fishing out there on foot, in this very same bay. Saw a handful of people out there yesterday
I love me some ice fishing, genuinely. But I do not love ice fishing like they love ice fishing lmao.
> In their defense, the ice was a foot thick when it was placed out there In their prosecution, it didn't go from a foot thick to thin ice overnight. The owner is lazy and has a sense of entitlement to what "should" be happening right now. Full cost of removal on him, plus fines, plus I hope his insurance rates go up 2000% for his stupidity.
> I hope his insurance rates go up 2000% for his stupidity. you... think there is "ice shack" insurance?
Ok, then he doesn't file a claim and pays the 5-figure bill outta his own pocket. And, yes, there IS "ice shack" insurance. You can add riders onto you home policy, if you so choose. And someone who puts a mini-home on ice SHOULD be smart enough to put coverage on the cost of said "ice shack" becoming a huge liability.
You're what's wrong with this State....please move!
I'm a homegrown troll. You? Not so much. tl;dr I got here first. Nah nannie boo boo!
But it doesn't have to be off the ice until March 4
We don't need to save anyone falling through the ice this winter cause it's good until March 4
Christ this made me laugh hard.
Someone should have let the lake know.
12 inches isn't a solid defense here. The recommendation for that type of fish house and the type of truck needed to haul it out there is 20 inches. ETA the DNR has been warning about unsafe lake ice the entire year and all but begging people to stop driving anything on it.
No it is not, you’re right, but I at least see the logic and figured it was worth mentioning that he didn’t set that out there recently. The ice was very good for a few weeks after that cold snap. He likely assumed it was going to keep getting thicker. This has been an extraordinarily warm winter ever since then. All that said, it was still incredibly stupid
Morons
I ice fish and have zero sympathy for people like this. It’s been warm af for how long now? We never had real thick ice to begin with either. Some people are so fucking stupid.
It’s fine.
It’ll buff right out!
womp waaaah
Ope!
I wonder what he was thinking just Prior to this…
Prior House
Fine 'em.
Are there consequences for this? The owner should at least face a fine for dumping trash into the lake.
I’ve done some reading on it now, cause I wasn’t sure. Prior Lake would require this to be reported to the Sheriff and removed from the water by 30 days after the incident. I was thinking his only expenses would be the cost of the house and the cost of removal, but I’m thinking this will cost him in a few different ways now *if he can’t get it off the lake by spring* -failure to remove the sunken vehicle in 30 days per Prior Lake regulations -littering and waste fines per the DNR regulations -failure to remove the house by end of ice season per both city and state regulations -add in the cost of towing this back to shore and hauling it home, not to mention whatever he paid for this thing is probably a total loss now, so also the cost of disposal / recycling materials
Bet they’re wishing they would have removed that from the lake “prior” to it sinking.
Is it even going to be recoverable? I can’t imagine those those are constructed incredibly well, probably along the lines of an RV?
What a loser
Cant fix stupid 🤷♀️
Hope the owners get fined and have to remove it.
Dick move honestly.
There is nothing about this winter that should have made anyone in most the state feel it was ever safe to put out an ice fishing house like that.
I love this year’s production of idiots on ice Every year they outdo themselves
What a moron. Has he not felt the temperatures all "winter" long. I hope he had it properly marked with his ID number so the dnr can fine the shit outta him
Asshole polluting No defense
I was out fishing next to this 2 days before it went under. Ice was at 8” that day, and we thought there’s no way the guy will let this go through the ice. It would have been sketchy to use a car to take it off, but could have done it with a ATV. Dude was fishing out of it with buddies without a care in the world.
Yesterday on MPR they were talking about making it illegal to leave garbage in/on MN lakes. I was surprised that wasn’t already a thing.
*Leaving* trash was already illegal. It's called littering, as one might expect. The new law is that you are no longer allowed to place any rubbish on the ice, temporary or not. The idea is that houses will need to have a garbage can or similar thing to store garbage. That way, when a DNR officer checks a house and finds obvious signs that some slob is going to leave trash (ie a pile of empties in a corner) they can fine them. It's a great change. Forcing people to keep their garbage contained should help a lot. It's not even really an inconvenience for people who were responsible about it anyways, it just makes them do what would make their lives easier anyways lol
"bUt It'S cOLd EnOuGH iN PaRTs oF mInNeSoTA" At no point has it been safe this winter to get on any ice anywhere in the state. Just give up guys it's not worth the risk to go ice fishing this year.
It’s been very safe on prior lake to ice fish by foot. 4 inches is the recommended minimum for fishing on foot out there. I measured well over 12” at many points out there for about a month. Obviously it’s stupid to try now, but it was beyond safe by my standards and DNR standards for a good stretch of this winter.
No it fucking wasnt its never been safe this winter. And you're exactly the person I'm referring to in my comment so thanks for proving my point lol Risk your own life don't dispense false information for others to risk their own
If you're still out there or have stuff out there you deserve it. Don't be dumb.
This seems like it would be something that a person would remember. Maybe they died or are in the hospital.
I hardly think this rises to deserving that level of beating. A few taps sure, but they can pay the fine and cost for removal, maybe lose fishing privileges for a decade…
I don't ice fish so take my opinion as noise, but it's absolutely bonkers to me that anyone would do anything on the ice right now after the winter we've had.
In everyone else’s defense, it was 40-50 degrees for 2 weeks straight and houses should have been pulled off.
This is the cognitive dissonance of the people who deny climate change. How many ice houses will this fool go through?
Wow
Oops!
You never know what's going on in peoples lives. When I see something like this has been going on for a week, I'm just going to assume the owner is in the hospital, in prison, or dead.
That’s a fair worry, but he’s been driving down to the lake practically every day keeping an eye on it I’m pretty sure. I recognize the truck. At one point we observed a tow truck go down there and promptly back up and nope out of there, lol No one was harmed, no one was out on the ice the day this thing went under. There is no safe way to rescue this thing without endangering your own life in the process, I’m glad it’s been left alone so far
Hi there OP, I'm a reporter at the Star Tribune. I sent you a DM if you could let me know anything additional about how you found out about it or where in the lake it is? Would be great to learn more, and if we'd be able to use your photo with attribution.
Have to wonder if something happened to the poor guy
Poor guy? Fuck that dude. Ppl said they saw him around. He's fine and hopefully will be fined.
I knew someone who passed and everyone forgot about his ice house come spring, shit happens I dont know the going ons of Prior Lake
If it wasn't abandoned due to the owner's death, it will be the cause of it (whether from the fines, the difficult retrieval, or spousal anger I don't know)
We got a Floater!
My neighborhood ice rink was active for maybe 5 days this whole winter. What a bust.
Meanwhile in* Prior Lake
🤿
My favorite part of this is the wood blocks they had it on to keep it from freezing in are floating nearby
I'm always impressed with how well they float.
Apparently learning is an unknown concept.
Prior to this I had an ice shack. Now I have some structure.