By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
By: Hollie Hojek
hhojek@kcautv.com
On Saturday, 1,500 Rainbow Trout fish were dumped into the water at Bacon Creek in Sioux City, so folks could do a little ice fishing.
There's nothing like the thrill of catching a fish, but it's a dangerous sport when it comes to ice fishing.
"I've been swimming twice," said Phillip Flemings.
Flemings has fallen through the ice twice in his 20 years of ice fishing.
"Scared to death didn't think I was going to survive."
That's why it's extremely important to always have another person with you when you're ice fishing. But even before you start to drill your hole, there's some safety tips you should know. Number one and most important:
"Check the ice a lot And check it often. Just because it's real thick in one spot doesn't mean it's going to be in another spot on the lake," said Ben Wallace, with the IOWA DNR.
Wallace says its also important to bring with you some type of flotation device.
"A life jacket or a floating seat cushion. Another thing to have is ice picks you can wear around your neck so if you do fall in, you can kind of grip the ice and pull yourself out."
And you're never too young to learn how to stay safe on the ice.
"You kind of see if it's blue or if it's white. If it's blue you don't want to go out," said Reid Hummings.
So once you checked and double checked the ice, grabbed a friend and a flotation device, You're all set to start catching some fish.
