Dozens of Ice Fishermen Rescued after Minnesota Storm
OutdoorHub Reporters 02.25.14
As many as 100 anglers in Minnesota’s Upper Red Lake finally left the ice on Sunday after being stranded for three days in a blizzard. According to KSTP, employees from the nearby JR’s Resort were able to finally reach the ice fishermen after a storm cut them off on Thursday. Trapped roughly eight miles from solid land in 45 fish houses, some anglers said they did not sleep. Instead, they weathered the storm by fishing.
Angler Jason Strom tells KSTP that the three days he spent on Upper Red Lake was some of the best fishing he ever had, although he is relieved to be off the ice.
“I wasn’t sure we were going to make it off the ice alive, it was that scary,” he said.
KFGO reports that snowdrifts between four and seven feet high piled up around the fish houses during the course of the storm. The combined weight of the snow was so heavy, it began to break the ice. Some children and older anglers were taken to safety by snowmobiles, but the snow eventually grew so severe that the lake became impassable. Some parts of the lake became flooded as the weight of the snow broke through the ice, endangering the fishing houses as well. According to WDAY, rescuers decided that it was too dangerous to risk plows on the ice.
“Our house was almost underneath the (snowdrift) the wind was blowing so bad,” Strom said.
You can see an interview with Strom below:
