Fish TV

If it gets really cold and we get some really thick ice 4" or thicker let me know and it would be fun to drill some holes in the ice and then check out what you can see. You will not find better visibility than when lots of ice covers the lake.

Some of the strip pits may take forever to freeze and be very careful as some part of the lake will freeze before other deeper parts. And any movement of water will make the freezing take longer and thus will have thinner ice.

Always take some extra warm cloths, blankets and a way to warm up quickly such as a propane type heater in case of an accident.

Take a rope or a ladder if you have that available to help rescue someone who falls though the ice into that extremely cold water.

I went with some friends of mine a few times to do some Scuba Diving under the ice. It was very cold. Today they sell DRY SUITS that help keep the diver warmer. Back in the early days of dive rescue teams we just poured warm water inside our wet suits and jumped into the icy waters. Brrrrrrrrrrrr that was cold as "H". I have done a few night dives but I'll leave the ice diving to the daredevils. We have plenty of them in our close circle of friends back in the 1970's.

Today those same guys are still working on the volunteer fire dept showing the younger guys how to perform ice rescues or body recovery as I like to call them these days. We never rescued anyone who fell though the ice. Time was alway not on our side. So we ended up just searching and sometimes finding the body for the family.

That's why I am so active in the prevention of accidents in here. I have seen too many bodies that I had to help pull from the waters around here. And that's never fun but is a jot that someone has to do. I just had the skills necessary to get the job done back then.

My love of the water is why I like to fish today. I grew up with parents that also loved the water and my dad loved fishing more than anything else.

So guys if you get out in this weather please stay safe. The volunteer firemen and rescue guys would just as soon stay safe and warm with their families instead of having to search for a dead body.

The life you save must be your own.

Now with all that said have fun out there too. One can have a blast out on the ice if they take precautions. The safest thing to do is wait until the ice is 4" thick or more in the weakest spots on the lake.

I love studying the underwater flora and fauna of our local lakes. I have more fun scuba diving in the lakes during the summer months exploring the lakes and the fish and other critters. I always wanted to stay under longer and have one of them scooter that would allow me to cover more water in a shorter period of time. Even when I was swimming a mile every day I tired using the fins for a long time. If you don't go very deep your air supply can last 45 minutes sometimes. But you have to learn to control your breathing to get the longer times on a 2100 psi tank of air. I think we use 72 size tanks back then. In fact I still have my scuba tank but it needs to be pressure checked and then filled with air if it passes the hydrostatic pressure test. I could use a new wet suit and a new BC before I dive again. And I would go to the YMCA for a few months to get back in shape before attempting to dive again. Or I could just sell the scuba stuff to someone younger and let them have some fun too. Yea that sounds like a much better idea. LOL

There is one thing of looking at the fish though a underwater camera but it's a lot more fun to actually get down there with the fish and swim with them underwater. That way you can see a lot more in much less time. I still wish I had made one of them underwater scooters. I know a guy that could probably make me one now that he's retired. I use to dream of those things when reading Popular Mechanics Magazine. They had plans for them in some magazines years ago when I was real young. I still think it would be fun to build one. The guy that I know built an underwater camera platform out of PVC pipes and some electronic servos so it could be remotely controlled. Imagine having a trolling motor propeller on your camera and being able to guide the camera under the water. Well that's what Cane Pole on [URL="http://www.crappie.com"]www.crappie.com[/URL] did. He lost his web site when he retired from work. Not sure if he still have the movies of this device in action anymore. But it was fun to see when he had that on the net.

[quote=bassmanic1;312723]Hey guys ,
Well I finally made to Gander Mnt. to cash in my Christmas gift cards . I have been wanting to get the underwater camera Fish TV which I saw in the Cabalas catalog . I call GM and they have a fresh shipment in on 1-10 so I got one last night . Retail price is $99.99 plus tax of $5.40 . It comes with a 50ft cord that wraps around the handle and a 12 volt power cord or 6 "C" batteries . I hooked it up to my trolling motor battery when I got home & it does work - the screen is a bit small at 5" and black N white but what the heck . I cant wait to get out an the lake to test it out . GM had about 10 more units so there should be plenty for everyone .

Tight lines[/quote]