Tips for anglers and others who plan to venture onto the ice this winter:

- Clear, solid ice at least two inches thick is usually sufficient to hold a single person walking on foot. For safety’s sake, wait until the ice is at least three inches thick and go with a friend. Keep at least 50 feet of distance between each other. Ice fishing with several friends and gear requires at least 4 inches of ice, and snowmobiles and ATVs require a minimum of 5 inches.

- Ice will generally be thicker near shore and get thinner the farther one ventures out. Check ice thickness with an ice spud or auger starting from a few feet from shore and every 10 to 20 feet as one goes towards the middle of the waterway.

- Lake ice is generally stronger than river ice. Springs, lake inlets and outlets, and channels can alter ice thickness.

- Before heading out onto early or newly formed ice, check with a local bait shop, resort owner, or outdoors store regarding ice thickness or known thin spots.

- Whether alone or with a friend on early ice, always carry a couple of large sharpened nails and a length of rope in an easily accessible pocket. The nails or commercially bought ice grabbers can help a person pull themselves out of the water on to more solid ice. The rope can be thrown to another person for rescue.

- If you are alone and go through the ice, take a few seconds to get over the “cold shock.” Regain your breathing, kick hard and try to swim up onto the ice. If successful, crawl on your hands and knees or roll to more solid ice. Get to the nearest warm place quickly. If your attempts to swim onto the ice are unsuccessful, get as much of your body out of the water and yell for help. Studies show you will have about 30 minutes or more before the body is incapacitated by hypothermia.

- Proper clothing can increase chances of survival should a person break through the ice. A snowmobile type suit if it is zipped can and will trap air and slow the body’s heat loss. Once filled with water, however, insulated suits become heavy and will hinder rescue. Newer model snowmobile suits have flotation material built in and anyone traversing ice should consider purchasing one of these suits. On early ice it is advised to wear a personal flotation device.

- Refrain from driving on ice whenever possible. Traveling in a vehicle – especially early or late in the season – is an accident waiting to happen.

- When driving on ice, be prepared to leave the vehicle in a hurry. Unbuckle the seatbelt and have a simple plan of action in case of ice break through. Anglers may want to leave a window open for an easy exit.

- Often vehicles will establish roads from shore to the current fishing hotspots. Repeated vehicle use may cause the ice to weaken. The ice roads may not always be the safest routes.

- When using a gas or liquid heater to warm an ice shack or tent make sure it is properly ventilated with at least two openings, one at the top and one at the bottom of the structure. Any flame eats oxygen so proper ventilation is required.

The morning started out very cold, about 20 degrees below zero.  Now many would skip this as a “not so good hunting day” but I say any day you can get out of bed and hunt is a good day!  I live in central North Dakota and when some one tells you about the end of the earth, I know where that is, just over the next hill around here.  I set up 3 times and drove over 50 miles today look for that one “smart” coyote.  I set up at the end of a tree row over looking some pasture and brush.  I did a few barks and a rabbit distress and not much was happening.  I was enjoying the end of the day but did not have much luck when I decided to try a higher pitch, like a female dog.  Well what do you know, in the distance I here a dog bark back, it sounded like it was a good mile away.  I kept barking and he would bark back only he sounded closer and closer.  As you can imagine I was getting pretty excited.  It was like watching one of the videos on coyote hunting, they bark and then you hear one bark back.  Well, just like in the video all of a sudden this coyote breaks over the hill following the fence line at a nice steady pace right to me!  What a beautiful dog, brig and gray with a sight read tint to his fur coming right at me.  He followed the fence line right in front of me until he was about 25 yards away and POW!  The bullet hits the barbed wire and missed the dog completely!  I can believe it!  Well as in all cases the dog has his after burners on but I remember a little of “Randy Anderson’s Video” and I bark and the dog stops dead in his tracks and looks back at me, I did that four time and he gave me four shots and I’m proud to say that I missed all four times but not on purpose!  I guess the point is that I had a great day, had my visalus shakes in the morning, one that will pay in my mind over and over again just like the videos.  Spend some time watching your favorite video but spend more time making your own and playing them over and over again.  Besides each time you tell the story, it just keeps getting better and better!