# Newbie question about ice cracking, booming



## CinciNative (Jan 22, 2011)

Hey everyone,

My family recently moved into a home with a large pond, and a smaller pond behind it. 
I went out on the ice yesterday and heard some very low deep sounding cracks/booms. This is my first time attempting to ice fish and it really freaked me out. Today I went back out there with a drill and tried to check the thickness of the ice. It seemed to be around 4 inches, but as I was drilling there were more deep cracking sounds, and a decent number of cracks can be seen in the ice.

Are these deep booming cracking sounds a sign that it's not safe yet?

I walked out onto the ice earlier in December before we got that wave of heat, and the ice didn't make any cracking sounds at all.


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## walleyeseizure (Jul 26, 2008)

Usually means it is making ice.


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## CinciNative (Jan 22, 2011)

meaning it's safe to go out on?


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## keepinitreel (Apr 11, 2004)

That observation is evidence of ice making but does not tell you that the ice is safe. You'll hear it many times "NO ICE IS SAFE ICE" Go out with the spud bar and check. 4" is ok and is usually my go to thickness.

You also need know the dynamics of the ponds. Are they spring fed? Is there small current running through it? How deep is it?


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## fish master (Dec 24, 2005)

yea its making ice but in the persons mind it is breaking, it is but it breaks to expand. it will crack open up and new ice will fill in the crack. iv ice fished for 5 years in ohio and im still gettin use to it. thin ice i worrie a lil bit more but if the ice is 9'' thick i tend to block it out..but everytime it will get the ticker pumping :B


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## CRAPPIE LOVER (Feb 11, 2007)

That is usualy a sign of ice making...Short story...My first encounter on the ice was with mrphish42 we went to Punderson...Walked out of the channel to the deep water..Walked like I was on eggs...After getting set up we were standing there and a Loud clap of thunder and the sound of ice breaking..It was dark but I was looking for the nearest shore...I was ready to run...jon laughed and told me it was making ice...We had 13 to 14 inches if I remember correctly..It still raises the hair on the back of my neck...As said before no ice is safe ice....Be careful.....JIM....CL....:C


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## rutnut245 (Jan 18, 2009)

All I know is if it's way below freezin it ain't melting.Many years ago we were ice fishing in a shanty town out by A can on Erie.Way off to the east you could hear a low rumbling sound that got louder and louder as it approached.Soon a huge crack went shooting thru the shanties and water gushed up out of the holes about 2'.I jumped out onto the ice and so had everybody else.I've been ice fishin for many years all over North America and I've never seen that before or since.
Earlier this year I was fishing in Sandusky bay when the ice made a loud boom and shifted about 2'.If my seat hadn't had a back on it I would have been on my butt.


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## foundationfisher (May 12, 2008)

no ice is safe ice. below freezing temps, noisy ice is good. above freezing, can be good or can be bad. 4 inches should be safe. like ice cubes in a tray, ice expands till it's frozen solid. lakes and ponds freeze till the ice can expand no more to the edges, so when they need more room, the ice cracks. after a cold night, when the sun comes out, and the ice warms up, and starts to expand, it needs room to grow, and starts cracking. fish after dark, and as it cools off, the sound has more of a ring than a scary crack to it. it will shoot all around the lake. i'm guessing on a smaller pond, with less water and room to grow it would make more scarry noise. you never get used to it, but when you understand the physics of it, it's fun to take newbies out and hear a crack coming 1/2 mile down the lake, shoot through your holes, and spray water all over them.... the look in their eyes....priceless


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## overcheck (Dec 13, 2010)

Becareful but don't be scared.


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## ress (Jan 1, 2008)

First time I heard that boom was on Higgins Lake in Michigan. It made a BOOM that started about a 1/4 mile away and moved towards us and right through, then the water came up in the hole a few inches. I had a pucker (and I don't mean my mouth) so quick,, they all were laughing at me when they saw the look on my face. The ice was 22" thick, and was making more.


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## RDEYBITEN (Oct 14, 2007)

Many years ago ,I was chosen to go out on the ice and check the thickness . I tied a 50'around me and walked out and started drilling.Here comes a cement block sliding accross the ice with the other end of the rope tied to it..Fine bunch of friends I got !!!!


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## Jigging Jim (Apr 3, 2010)

I have had the ice crack and move me 3 different times at Wingfoot Lake just since Saturday. Never had the ice actually move me before. It was interesting!


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Many people trust 4 inches but at that thickness there is not much room for error. For me it depends on the situation , Ive been on 4 inches and had no trouble ( though I am not claiming it to be safe ) , and Ive been on 4 inches of ice that was cracking a lot....I watched a large crack form and spiderweb right beneath me and that kind of cracking is dangerous , I got out of there quick.


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## Steelhead Fever (Dec 31, 2009)

jigging--w2e had like 2 or so weird cracks while walking out on monday....was it making you think?


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## fishintechnician (Jul 20, 2007)

Took a buddy to a pond that had 6-8 in of super clear ice with no snow on it, it was cracking abd poping like mad, and was a little unnerving even for me when you can see bottom through the ice and can watch the cracks as they vein and spread across it. All he kept say was "man I don't know about this" and " I don't like this". Can't figure out why he didn't sit down the whole time we were fishing.


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