ice fisherman stranded

Green Bay ice sheet breaks apart, stranding 34 ice fishermen on large drifting chunk
Many people thought the sunny Saturday morning was a good time to go icefishing near Point Comfort, about 20 kilometres northeast of the city of Green Bay. But something unexpected happened that turned the day around.

A large chunk of ice — known as a “shove” — broke from the shoreline and took dozens of people with it as it slowly drifted off.

“It sounded like, almost, somebody fired a gun out there,” fisherman Shane Nelson told local station WLUK . “We got out of our shanty, took a look and people were yelling ‘We’re separating.'”

Nelson and his friend Robert Verhagen were trying out ice fishing for the first time, and it turned into an experience they may not want to repeat.

“We didn’t catch any fish, ran out of propane early, and got stranded on the ice,” they told WXOW . They had to watch as they floated away from their gear, but did eventually get it back


The slab of ice drifted some 600 metres into the bay and a kilometre north.© Provided by National Post The slab of ice drifted some 600 metres into the bay and a kilometre north.
Many people thought the sunny Saturday morning was a good time to go icefishing near Point Comfort, about 20 kilometres northeast of the city of Green Bay. But something unexpected happened that turned the day around.

A large chunk of ice — known as a “shove” — broke from the shoreline and took dozens of people with it as it slowly drifted off.

“It sounded like, almost, somebody fired a gun out there,” fisherman Shane Nelson told local station WLUK . “We got out of our shanty, took a look and people were yelling ‘We’re separating.'”

Nelson and his friend Robert Verhagen were trying out ice fishing for the first time, and it turned into an experience they may not want to repeat.

“We didn’t catch any fish, ran out of propane early, and got stranded on the ice,” they told WXOW . They had to watch as they floated away from their gear, but did eventually get it back.


Two airboats were deployed to help the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, New Franken Fire Department, Green Bay Fire Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Coast Guard, and by noon all those stranded had been rescued.

By the end of the rescue, the ice floe was about a mile from shore. It was deteriorating rapidly, cracking apart as the open water pounded at its edges
I heard reports that the ice had drifted out approximately 2,000 feet (600 metres) from where they originally were,” said Lt. John Bain, with the Brown County Sheriff’s Office. The shove had also moved north a kilometre.

No one was injured. Officials first listed 27 people as having been rescued, then a couple of hours later increased the number to 34.

Officials believe a barge that had passed through the bay, along with a change in current, may have destabilized the ice.

check your sleigh for holes you may need to use it as a boat

Well, that was an odd turn of events in the story. Not sure how it's related, but ok

dont know how that got in there but taken care of now

saw this on the news a day or 2 ago........kind of reminds me of the Simcoe day a few years back

nobody got hurt, so all good

This is precisely why I don't do ice fishing!!!