Safety on ice in winter. Safe Ice Thickness

When winter fishing on ice, you need to know that the water becomes heaviest, and therefore dense, at a temperature of about zero degrees. And the warm and colder ones are usually lighter and should naturally rise above the layer of water with zero temperature. This explains the formation of ice when the upper layers of water, cooling, freeze, and the ice has buoyancy.

This means that in winter the warmest water is located at the bottom, which constantly heats it to approximately plus 4 degrees. This is also observed in deep river holes, where the water is constantly mixed. When fishing in winter you need to be very careful on the ice. The fact is that the thickness of the ice on reservoirs is not the same and it is not homogeneous. There may be areas above springs, strong currents and great depths. Sometimes the snow hides giant bubbles of gas that have accumulated under a thin film of ice. At the beginning of winter, transparent, dark ice is the strongest, while white, cloudy ice with gas bubbles is weaker. However, white ice can be much thicker, which is especially typical for areas of frozen “fat” or snow, driven by waves and wind into wide stripes across bays and channels near the islands.

Based on long-term practice, fishermen have developed rules for safe movement and fishing on ice and always exercise the necessary caution.

— You cannot fish from ice less than 5 cm thick.
“You can go out from the shore to the edge of the ice only after testing its reliability and thickness.
— Ice covered with snow is treacherous and requires double caution when moving.
- At the first appearance of cracks, you should quickly but calmly, without taking your feet off the ice, with small, sliding steps, move away from the dangerous place.
— Do not stop on areas of cracked or thin ice.
— After frost, ice usually forms, and then a thaw occurs.

You should not go out on ice whose thickness is less than 8 cm; the thaw loosens it and weakens it. The tables provide data on the increase in ice thickness and safe loads on ice.

Increase in ice thickness.

Air temperature	Ice thickness, cm
	Less than 10	10-20	20-40
	Increase in ice thickness per day, cm
— 5	4	1,5	0,5
— 10	6	3	1,5
— 15	8	4	2
— 20	9	6	3

In winter, shallow water bodies (ponds, small closed lakes and bays) freeze first. In large, deep and flowing reservoirs, where the water mass cools gradually, ice formation is sometimes delayed by 15–20 days compared to small and shallow ones. Even on the same body of water, ice forms later in deep areas than in shallow areas. On rivers, the ice cover is always unequal; the stronger the water flow, the thinner it is. As already indicated, transparent, dark ice is stronger than white or cloudy ice.

But you need to be wary of areas with very dark ice, especially dark spots covered with frost crystals or frost patterns. Here the ice is very thin, under it is a spring or spring. With the appearance of a thin layer of snow on the ice, areas above springs and springs, and on rivers, areas with strong currents sometimes become dark. This occurs because the snow is saturated with water protruding from under the ice. Areas near previously punched holes also darken, but traces lead to them or fragments of ice are visible, as well as crumbles from under the ice drill. If there are no such traces near the dark spot, you should avoid the dangerous area further, doubling your caution.

Safe loads on ice.

Winter ice fishing requires warm shoes and clothing.

— Woolen socks are worn on bare feet, and knitted socks are worn on them.
— Warm underwear is necessary, preferably woolen.
— Pants with a bodice that covers the lower back and part of the back.
— Long-skirted clothing is of little use; it usually gets wet underneath and can become frozen.
- You need a good scarf, a warm hat and mittens, which should be attached to a cord passed through the sleeves of the clothing.
— For manipulating bait, woolen gloves without fingers - thumb, index and middle - are good.
— If it takes a long time to get to the ice fishing spot, you need to lighten your clothes so as not to sweat.
— Before going fishing, wash your feet well with cold water to avoid catching a cold.
— After fishing, take a hot shower at home.

When winter fishing on ice, you also need to take care of your diet.

— Eating dry food is harmful, especially if you travel overnight.
— It’s better to take a thermos with tea or compote (but not coffee - it doesn’t quench your thirst).
- From food - concentrates, canned food, dumplings, i.e., things that can be easily and quickly heated, cooked in the presence of fire and or other utensils.
— It’s good to have a gas burner, a dry alcohol stove.
- As a last resort, you should take sandwiches with you.
— It is better to eat indoors, in the warmth, or in a calm from the wind.
— Sandwiches need to be warmed before eating.

In frosty, windy weather, fishermen look for shelter or create protection from the wind and cold themselves: they lay out walls of snow, deploy sheets and tents. Of course, all these structures tie the fisherman to a place, depriving him of freedom of movement, but it’s better to use them anyway.

Movement on ice.

Movement on spring ice requires even more caution than on first ice. It is best to follow paths and tracks. After the edges appear, before you go out onto the ice, you need to ensure an absolutely safe and secure return. On lakes and reservoirs, when the ice floats up and “dries out,” a strong wind can move and overtake it, pressing it to one of the shores. In this case, the edges on the opposite bank will increase. A way out will have to be found in accordance with the movement of the ice.

Dark spring ice is half as weak as white ice; it is completely saturated with water and divided into individual crystals, which makes it dangerous for movement and unsuitable for stopping. Under prolonged loads, dark ice quickly bends, water appears on top of it, and then it breaks up into crystals. Stopping and cutting to catch fish should only be done on white, dry ice.

The ideal pattern of ice freezing is greatly changed by the thickness of the snow cover on it.

For winter fishermen who go out on the ice of different types of water bodies, it is simply necessary to know and understand what conditions of the evolution of the ice cover determine the safety or impossibility of being on it. In this case, the main characteristic of ice will be its strength, which is a variable value, highly dependent on the type and structure of the ice, its temperature and thickness.

It happens that the beginning of winter is accompanied by frequent thaws with precipitation in the form of rain or sleet. Then the ice cover freezes in stages during the frosty intervals between cyclones. At the same time, its thickness increases both from below - due to the crystallization of the surface water of the reservoir, and from above - due to the freezing of the snow-water “porridge” that appeared on top of the ice during the next bad weather. Such ice turns out to be cloudy and multi-layered. It should be borne in mind that it is approximately two times weaker (withstands half the static load) of ice, transparent as glass. Therefore, it is safe to go out onto the whitish, opaque ice cover when it reaches a thickness of more than 10 centimeters, and even if the air temperature is negative. This is important to know for the reason that fishermen, as a rule, strive for areas with such ice, since fish usually accumulate here in low light conditions and they bite much better in such places.

As already said, pure, transparent ice is the strongest. This is a crystalline monolith formed from the freezing of the supercooled upper layer of water. However, it makes sense to fish from such ice only at great depths, where little light reaches and the fish are not shy. Therefore, it will be safe when it reaches a thickness of at least 5 centimeters - only in this case the ice can reliably support one person, but groups cannot gather on it.

The strength of the ice cover increases linearly with increasing thickness and decreasing temperature. But here you have to imagine that the temperature of the ice varies in thickness: at the top it is equal to atmospheric temperature, and at the bottom it corresponds to the freezing point of water, that is, about zero degrees. And since the temperature coefficient of linear expansion of ice is enormous (for example, five times greater than that of iron) and many have probably seen how strong vessels with frozen water burst, it becomes clear that similar processes are inevitable with ice on a reservoir: according to As its thickness increases, layers at different temperatures experience an expanding load in both the transverse and longitudinal directions. That is why, during sudden warming or cooling, the ice on reservoirs bursts with a deafening roar and long cracks spread across it. In addition, in the vast water areas of lakes and reservoirs, these cracks, on the one hand, cause the formation of ice hummocks, and on the other (to compensate) - wide leads into which one can easily fall, especially after snowfalls covering the open water.

You might think that cracks on the ice surface form haphazardly, chaotically. However, not everything is so simple if we remember the mechanism of ice formation: at the beginning of winter, when the ice is not yet the same thickness everywhere, stresses are localized in narrow zones where thick and thin ice cover meets, that is, where shallow water abruptly turns to depth. Experienced fishermen know that bottom dumps, where fish often stay, should be looked for along old and wide cracks, usually running parallel to the main channel. In this case, the deep side of the reservoir will be determined by the crack located close to the usually steep bank, and vice versa.

To imagine what kind of ice can be expected on a reservoir at the beginning of winter, you should know that its growth during the day is highly dependent on the air temperature and the existing thickness. It looks something like this: if the ice was already about 10 centimeters, then over the next day it will add 4 cm at a frost of minus 5; 6 cm - at frost 10; 8 cm - at minus 15; 9 cm - at minus 20. But if the initial ice thickness is, say, 20-30 cm, then the daily increase at the same temperatures will decrease by about 3-4 times - it is impossible to say more precisely, since this is also affected by the quality of the water.

Of course, the ideal picture of ice freezing is greatly changed by the thickness of the snow cover on it, which acts like a fur coat. It is known that the thermal conductivity (cold conductivity) of snow is up to 30 times less than that of ice (much depends on the density of the snow), therefore, during snowfalls, depending on their intensity, an appropriate correction must be made to the calculations.

It is important to understand by the appearance of the first, fragile ice how it reacts to the load. Experienced fishermen say that young ice will not deceive, will not let you down, but will notify you of danger in time with a loud crack and the appearance of cracks. A load applied to thin ice (a fisherman on ice) causes it to sag (deform) into a bowl shape. With a small load, the deformation is elastic in nature, and the bowl expands symmetrically around the perimeter. If the load is higher than the elastic limit, then plastic deformation of the ice will begin and the deflection bowl will begin to increase faster in depth than in width - this is the beginning of ice destruction. In quantitative terms it will look like this. For the strongest transparent ice, its central deflection to a depth of 5 cm will not cause cracks; a deflection of 9 cm leads to increased formation of cracks; a deflection of 12 cm causes through cracking; at 15 cm the ice falls through.

Under the influence of a load, cracks in the ice appear both radial - emanating from the point of application, and concentric - around this point. Radial cracks only warn of insufficient ice strength, which requires extreme caution on it. But if concentric cracking is added to the radial cracks, accompanied by a characteristic creaking sound, you need to immediately leave the dangerous area with a sliding step; in a particularly critical situation, it is better to lie on the ice in order to increase the area of ​​weight distribution over the surface, and crawl in the opposite direction. You need to know other rules of conduct on thin ice:

Under no circumstances should you walk along it in single file, otherwise the radial cracks on the path will quickly grow concentric;

Do not go fishing alone;

Check every step on the ice with a pointed pick, but do not hit the ice in front of you with it - it’s better from the side;

Do not approach other fishermen closer than 3 meters;

Do not approach places where driftwood, algae, or air bubbles are frozen into the ice;

Do not walk near a fresh crack or on an area of ​​ice separated from the main body by several cracks;

Quickly leave the dangerous place if water begins to flow like a fountain from the hole you have made;

It is necessary to have means of insurance and rescue (a cord with a weight at the end, a long pole, a wide board);

Do not combine fishing with drinking alcohol.

With the onset of cold weather, many anglers flock to reservoirs to fish for their own pleasure. Ice fishing brings many positive experiences, but you need to remember basic safety rules so that fishing on ice is not marred by various types of incidents.

Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for fishermen to fall through fragile ice when cars driving onto frozen bodies of water drown. It is also not uncommon for fishermen to find themselves on ice floes cut off from the shore.

This happens most often in two cases: when entering autumn ice that has not yet established itself, or when entering ice that has already begun to melt thanks to the spring sun. What kind of ice is considered safe will be discussed in this article.

In most regions of our country, the optimal ice thickness for fishing in the winter season is considered to be ice of at least seven centimeters, and optimally ten to twelve centimeters.

Crossings along which you can cross on foot from one bank to another must be provided that the ice thickness is at least fifteen centimeters. Automobile authorized ice crossings open when the ice on reservoirs reaches at least thirty centimeters thick.

It is worth noting that ice can be of different thicknesses in different parts of the reservoir: for example, it is thinnest near the banks, at the confluence of rivers, as well as where rivers flow into the sea, at various bends of rivers, and also at the place where they merge sewerage

First of all, the freeze-up period can be divided into three main stages: first ice, hard ice and last ice. It often happens (even in central Russia, not to mention the more southern regions) that there are several short periods of formation of temporary ice cover, which, not achieving sufficient strength, is then washed away by rain, weakened by damp fogs and broken by the wind.

At such moments, the most common tragic incidents occur with reckless fishermen who do not have the patience to endure a week or two.

In such a situation, it is better not to rush, moderate your spiritual ardor and devote the time of the outstanding off-season to carefully preparing winter fishing equipment or extend the very effective late-autumn spinning hunt on large rivers, where there are also no edges.

PERVOLEDY

This period can be very short (one or two frosty, quiet nights), or quite long and, as mentioned above, sometimes interrupted. First ice is also conventionally divided into certain phases: first ice (thin, but no longer collapsing ice), strong ice, at least in some places, and reliable ice (completely covering some reservoirs and everywhere suitable for fishing).

It is clear that not only on different bodies of water, but even on the same one, these phases vary in time and across the water area, sometimes significantly, therefore, when planning your first ice trips, you should have a good idea of ​​what is happening on a particular body of water. Such knowledge is gained only through annual observations carefully recorded in a fishing diary.

Everything that has been said upon first reading may seem to you like excessive reinsurance, but the author of these lines has repeatedly witnessed the transformation of overly self-confident fishermen into a kind of icebreaker, breaking the ice with their hands all the way to the shore, and it was impossible to help them, since getting out onto thin ice, and even in heavy wet clothes is almost impossible.

And a good knowledge of the body of water chosen for fishing on the first ice is necessary, at least in order to remember where its depth is no higher than a person’s height or where, from a deep place, an applicant for the title of “walrus” can quickly reach the shallows leading to the shore...

How does such a wonderful natural phenomenon occur - the formation of ice on the surface of water? In short, due to convective heat exchange between two media, water and air, occurring at the interface.

And in more detail it looks something like this: water, being a very capacious heat accumulator, by the end of the summer season turns out to be much hotter than the atmosphere near the surface of the earth.

The air, being less dense and therefore not so energy-intensive, quickly cools down due to the long nights and the distance of the planet from the sun with a change in the intensity and inclination of the sun's rays to the surface. And the lower the air temperature drops, the faster the heat exchange with water occurs.

When the surface layer of water cools to a temperature of +4°, at which this liquid abruptly becomes as dense as possible, it, practically without mixing, will sink down, displacing warmer and lighter water upward. In this way, vertical circulation and very slow mixing of the entire water column occurs.

This convection process gradually fades as the temperature approaches 4°, but never stops at all - the bottom layers constantly receive heat from the bed of the reservoir, which in winter is always somewhat warmer than the water (otherwise the reservoirs would freeze to the bottom, and ice would grow both on top and from below, which usually occurs in permafrost areas).

When the bulk of the water reaches a temperature of 4°, its further cooling to 0° begins - this is the point of transition of distilled water into a crystalline state, that is, the freezing point. Hypothermia below 0° leads to the formation of ice.

In reality, in different bodies of water, water is a kind of solution of salts and micro-suspensions that differ in composition, which usually reduces the temperature of ice formation, and this temperature is not the same for different bodies of water.

Again, there is no ideal picture of water freezing in nature, and the ice freezes up differently every year - it depends on the weather with which this process is accompanied, as well as on the type of reservoir: large or small, deep or shallow, with a current or standing . The nature of ice formation is also influenced by fluctuations in water levels during this period and ongoing shipping in some places.

If freeze-up occurs in calm, frosty weather, then the ice almost evenly covers the entire body of water, growing from the shores, and especially in shallow areas.

When the process of ice formation is accompanied by a strong wind, the formation of ice cover in the open spaces of large reservoirs is delayed for a long time - steep waves break and carry away the fragile, thin first ice and knock it down to the leeward shore, where, with a sufficiently strong frost, which quickly seizes this fragile building material, it can a very thick, but less durable than solid ice, wide edge will form.

Another edge of monolithic ice will grow from the windward shore, and the steeper and higher this shore is, the wider the transparent blind area will lie on the water.

When the wind subsides, unless there is a sudden thaw, these two edges will quickly join together, as the well-mixed and cooled water is ready to freeze. However, the fisherman should remember for a long time: where the ice stood up at the beginning, there it is thicker and stronger.

It is clear that above great depths, where the mass of water is large, it will take longer to cool, and ice formation will occur later than in shallow places. The same pattern exists during freeze-up on large or small bodies of water.

Rivers have their own peculiarities of ice formation: due to the flow, the water is constantly mixed throughout the entire volume, and supercooling occurs for the entire moving mass, which requires additional time, so the ice on the river rises a little later than on reservoirs with stagnant water.

However, the water in rivers under ice is generally colder than in lakes and reservoirs, and, paradoxically, further ice growth on the river occurs faster.

An illustrative example of the fact that the water in a river in winter is colder than in a stagnant body of water is the following simple experiment: having dipped a sinker several times into the water and frozen an ice “shirt” on it, then lower it, say, to a depth of 5 meters in the lake - ice grows in a minute or two.

On the river, the same experience will show that the sinker will remain frozen for up to an hour or more - this indicates that the temperature of the entire water column along the current is close to 0°.

Of course, in a strong current the ice appears later than in a weak current. In addition, at the beginning of winter there are noticeable and quite sharp fluctuations in water levels on rivers. Usually there is a drop in it, associated with a decrease in the flow of tributaries due to the freezing of surface groundwater.

For example, on the Oka River this leads to thin ice breaking off along the banks and the current carrying away the entire mass of the first ice. Moving ice floes accumulate in places with reverse flows behind capes and at the arrows of jet breakdown, as well as at the border where a fast flow flows into a slow-flowing reach.

In all such characteristic places, hummocks then form, sometimes reaching a thickness of up to 3 meters - they serve as a good guide for anglers all winter when searching for fish sites, since underwater inhabitants accumulate near such “features” of the behavior of the river flow.

The most important characteristic of ice is its strength, which in real conditions cannot be considered a constant, since this indicator strongly depends on the type and structure of the ice, its temperature and thickness.

It happens that the beginning of winter is accompanied by frequent passage of cyclones, precipitation falls in the form of rain or sleet, and ice freezes in several stages during short frosty gaps between weather fronts.

At the same time, its thickness increases both from below and from above due to the freezing of fallen snow or water located on its surface.

Such ice turns out to be cloudy, multi-layered, and it should be borne in mind that it is approximately two times weaker than transparent, glass-like ice, so you need to go out on it when it reaches twice the safe thickness, that is, about 10 cm.

This is important to know for the reason that anglers, as a rule, tend to areas with similar ice cover, since fish usually accumulate here and they bite much better in such places.

As already noted, the strongest is pure transparent ice, formed from the freezing of the surface layer of water, but it makes sense to fish from it only at great depths, where the light is low and the fish are not shy. Therefore, it will be safe when it reaches a thickness of at least 5 cm - then it can reliably support one person.

Experts suggest that safe ice should be at least 10 cm thick.

But it is worth considering not only the thickness of the ice, but also its structure. Loose ice is the same thickness as dense ice - this is different ice. Loose multilayer ice can very often be found after a thaw, at the end of winter.

The first ice should be treated with caution. There are several rules that both novice and experienced fishermen must follow before going winter fishing.

The fisherman must carefully ensure that there is a safe thickness of ice for fishing that will not cause trouble.

1. Don't go out on the ice alone. There should be someone else close to you who can help you out in a dangerous moment.

2. Several people should not be on the ice in one place. Only fish can do this, gathering in schools near the hole and waiting for bait there. And the fisherman must sit alone near the hole. When the thickness of the ice for fishing is large and safe, it will be possible to fish nearby with other fishermen.

3. The distance of one hole from another should not be small. Otherwise, a crack may appear in the ice, which can lead to bad consequences.

4. Do not wear fishing equipment. The best option would be to drag the box along the ice behind you by a rope. This will allow you to escape if you fall through the ice. It's better to lose your equipment than your life. Otherwise, a heavy box with fishing accessories can pull you to the bottom if it is worn on your back or shoulder; I recommend a sled, here you can make them yourself.

5. Try to stay away from reeds. The ice around the vegetation is not very thick, and it is dangerous to be there.

6. You should not move straight to the center of the reservoir; it is better to walk on the shore where there is shallow water. As a rule, there are more fish in these places, and there is less chance of encountering trouble.

Every fisherman should have a rope that can save not only your life, but also another person’s. Also, do not forget that the fishing store sells vests that will prevent you from going under water

What kind of ice can you walk on? Optimal ice thickness

Thin ice can be a serious hazard not only for those who enjoy winter fishing, but also for people who want to take a shortcut across a frozen body of water. People don't understand the risks that can come from walking on ice. Therefore, you must definitely worry about your safety and take all necessary measures.

How to determine the safety of a pond

A person who is going to walk on winter reservoirs must know the thickness of the ice cover. It should be at least 7 centimeters, and preferably 15 cm. Ice can be of different types: cloudy, or transparent with greenish tints. The latter appears at very low temperatures and in weather without wind or precipitation. If this ice has the required thickness, you can easily move on it. When walking you can hear it crunching. Such a surface is considered safe, since even areas with the thinnest thickness do not collapse immediately; first they crack.

Milky ice is less safe. It is made up of snow during frosts, so it consists almost entirely of snowflakes. Such a frozen consistency is life-threatening; it can collapse immediately without warning (cracks). The thickness of such ice may be large, but due to its structure it will be very fragile.

People often ask the question what is the optimal temperature for walking on frozen ice. A recently frozen body of water can be dangerous because the thickness of its ice cover has not reached the required value. The freezing point of fresh water is 0 degrees Celsius. Therefore, when you are going on winter fishing or just for a walk, check the air temperature and pay close attention to the thickness of the ice surface, it should be at least 10 cm, which guarantees safety.

If you nevertheless cross a body of water, be sure to follow each other one at a time, so that, in case of failure, you can save your fellow traveler.

The most treacherous ice is the first one, so it is better to wait until the water freezes stronger (the thickness of the ice cover increases) and you can go fishing or walk with peace of mind.

Rules for moving on frozen bodies of water

The best way to protect yourself is to not go on the ice at all, but this is not always possible. Sometimes circumstances force us to go on such a walk, and sometimes it’s just the usual desire to go fishing. Is it possible to deny your passion for fishing?

When warm weather persists for a long time, the ice becomes less dense and, accordingly, its fragility increases, regardless of its thickness.

It is imperative to follow all safety measures.

Let's look at a few mandatory rules:

• Determine the color of the ice surface; the higher the turbidity, the more dangerous the transition will be;
• Never cross the surface of a frozen body of water at night or in conditions of poor visibility. The likelihood of anyone seeing you when you fail is zero;
• Use official ice crossings if available. There are always a lot of people there;
• If there are several of you, then you need to walk on the ice in a group, keeping a distance of 5-6 meters from each other;
• To easily cross the ice you can use skis. You need to ski with the bindings unfastened and the poles held freely in your hands. A person wearing skis creates less pressure on the ice surface than a person without skis;
• If you have any burden with you, hold it so that if something happens (falling through the ice) you can quickly get rid of it;
• You can take a rope with a large loop at one end and a weight at the other. Thanks to the heavy weight, which creates little pressure on the surface of the ice, you can easily get out from under the ice if you fall through.
• If you go fishing, you need to stop where there are a lot of fishermen. You should not drink alcohol while fishing.
• If the temperature begins to rise, it is better to cancel fishing or walking on a frozen body of water. You can sit out the period of rising air temperatures at home.

E then there are a few simple rules that will help you if you cross a frozen body of water and, perhaps, save your life. Never go out on a frozen surface while intoxicated, which often happens when fishing. Don't let your children play in the water without your supervision. Be careful and value your life and the lives of your loved ones.

Voiced specifically for Rarog Survival

Many anglers prefer winter fishing to summer fishing; they look forward to the onset of cold weather to make holes and catch the long-awaited fish.

At the same time, many people forget that winter fishing is quite specific and requires compliance with safety rules. It is important to know what is the safe thickness of ice for fishing, otherwise your favorite hobby can result in extremely disastrous consequences.

If you ignore the characteristics of the ice sheet, it is easy to end up underwater while fishing. Some fishermen take even more risks - not wanting to walk, they get to the fishing spot by vehicle, and as a result, rescuers who arrive at the scene have to get not only the fisherman, but also his car out of the water.

Time of ice formation in Russia

Most regions of our country are located in cold latitudes, where the winter period often lasts more than 3 months. At the same time, the first ice capable of supporting an adult appears in closed and flowing water bodies around the end of November.

Ice that can support the weight of a passenger car appears on the reservoir only in mid-January. It is worth taking into account what weather conditions were like throughout this period. If the air temperature rose to 0 and stayed for about 3-4 days, the strength of the ice decreased by 25%.

In mid-January, specialized ice crossings across the reservoir begin to operate. Basically, in such areas, the thickness for safe passage is maintained until the beginning of spring, if short-term thaws did not occur during the winter period. It is advisable to cross a body of water at a crossing, since specialists always monitor the thickness of the ice in a given place and block traffic if danger arises.

Important! Remember that ice is installed in different regions of our country at different times. To avoid danger, before fishing you should monitor the weather forecast in the area, as well as read the official statements of the authorities regarding the thickness of the ice.

What should be the minimum cover thickness?

In most regions of our country, fishermen go out on the ice if the thickness of the ice on the reservoir exceeds 7 centimeters, while the safest is ice whose thickness exceeds 10 centimeters.

Crossing the pond on foot can be permitted if the ice thickness exceeds 15 centimeters.

Authorized transportation of vehicles on ice becomes available only if the thickness exceeds 30 centimeters.

It is worth remembering that the ice is not equally thick in all places. Even when the optimal thickness is reached, thin areas that pose a danger are observed in the central part of the reservoir, near the shore, as well as in the area of ​​​​the confluence of rivers.

How to determine the thickness for fishing?

There are several ways to check the thickness of the ice on a pond yourself and protect yourself from falling under water.

Important! When going out on the ice in winter, regardless of whether you are a fisherman or a person who just wants to shorten the path, you need to take an ordinary stick with you. The fragility of the ice ahead is always checked with a stick, since kicking can cause an instant fall into the water.

The ice is checked with a stick as follows: tap on the frozen surface and watch for the appearance of water. If water appears on the surface, the ice has not yet frozen sufficiently and it is completely unsafe to walk on it. There is a certain way to leave thin ice: move slowly, do not panic or make too sudden movements, your feet should slide along the surface and not come off.

Another way to determine thickness is the color of the ice. Transparent years are considered the strongest and safest. If the surface has a bluish or greenish tint, you can stand on such ice - the thickness has reached the minimum acceptable safe values.

The most unsafe is considered to be matte ice that has a yellowish tint. It deteriorates very quickly, and walking on such a surface can lead to disastrous consequences.

You should also avoid areas of ice on which there are no traces. If no one has walked in this place before, most likely the thickness is insufficient.

Signs of fragility of frozen water

The main signs of fragile ice include:

• ice has a loose structure and opaque color;
• water begins to flow out of the holes;
• while fishing you hear the crackling and squelching of water;
• Often dangerous areas are covered with snow; it would be better to avoid them than to put your life in danger.

Safe indicators

Do not risk your life and do not go out on the first ice, the canvas is at the stage of formation, any rash action can cost you your life. Depending on its thickness, ice on reservoirs is usually divided into several categories:

• minimum thickness - about 7 centimeters. On average, this thickness is enough to support the weight of a person. It is extremely undesirable to go out on such ice, but if you do find yourself on a body of water, start moving towards the shore without lifting your feet from the surface;
• safe thickness – 10 centimeters or more (minimum 15 centimeters for salt water reservoirs);
• dangerous thickness - less than 5 centimeters. If you get on such ice, you are more likely to fall under water.

It is worth remembering that even in mid-January the ice is not always dense enough to support a person’s weight. According to observations, if the temperature rises to 0 degrees for about 3 days, the ice becomes unsafe.

Dangerous areas

All fans of winter fishing should wait until the thickness of the ice on the reservoir reaches 10 centimeters. It is worth remembering that there are always areas on a lake or river where the ice remains dangerously thick throughout the winter. Such areas include:

• surface covered with a thick layer of snow;
• areas where there is a strong current;
• places of underwater springs;
• places where rivers merge, or where a river flows into a body of water;
• places where wastewater is discharged into water.

How ice thickness increases depending on temperature

Air temperature, °C	Ice thickness on the reservoir, cm
	Less than 10	10-20	20-40
	Ice gain per day, cm
-5	4	1,5	0,5
-10	6	3	1,5
-15	8	4	2
-20	9	6	3

Rules of movement

• crossing a pond try to stick to those areas where the path has already been trodden. When stepping onto clean ice without traces, be sure to probe the surface in front of you with a stick;
• if you are fishing in a group, it is worth spreading out from each other at some distance;
• It is advisable to travel to the drilling site on skis;
• If you take a backpack with equipment with you, you should wear it with only one strap. This will allow you to quickly throw the load aside if you fall through the ice;
• Necessarily take a rope with you when fishing, the optimal length is 20-25 meters. A weight is attached to one end of the rope and a loop is made. This allows you to provide assistance to a fisherman who has fallen through the ice if necessary.

It is advisable not to go ice fishing on your own. It is also important to warn your loved ones about the exact place you plan to fish.

Rules of conduct when getting into water

• try to calm down, do not make too fast movements with your arms and legs;
• Do not wet your head under any circumstances;
• call loudly for help;
• try to cling to the ice;
• try to get out onto the icy surface, helping yourself with your feet. Don't stop trying if it doesn't work;
• if you manage to get out, slowly crawl to the shore without getting up;
• do not stop to rest outside, it is important to get to a warm room.

Useful video

Watch this helpful video about the thickness of ice a car can support:

Winter fishing is quite a pleasant pastime. To prevent it from turning into an emergency, you need to carefully prepare and learn more about the thickness of the ice on the body of water where you plan to fish.

Knipovich Nikolai Mikhailovich

Zoologist, hydrobiologist. Graduated from Leningrad State University named after Zhdanov, Faculty of Biology and Soil Sciences. I am interested in fishing at a professional level.