Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Over the last week, temperatures in Washington County have been frequently above freezing, which can cause the ice on lakes and ponds to thin. With that in mind, Lake Darling Fisheries Biologist Chad Dolan reminds wintertime anglers to always check the thickness of the ice before venturing onto frozen surfaces. He explains, “First thing I would tell people is, you probably want to wait until the ice is about four inches thick. That’ll support an adult pretty readily. If it’s anything below that, you do want to be a little bit careful. I wouldn’t risk it, personally, below about four inches thickness, because you know ice doesn’t freeze uniformly for one. So if you’ve got three inches in one place, it could be two and a half in another. So there is definitely some risk involved.”

If people are considering driving vehicles onto ice, Dolan recommends at least five inches for snowmobiles and ATVs, 8-12 inches for small cars or trucks, and 12-15 inches for larger trucks and SUVs. He emphasizes no ice is safe ice, so venturing onto it should always be done with caution, especially when the weather is warmer. For more information about ice fishing, the In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with Dolan can be found at KCIIRadio.com.