Why?

[dean nelson]

Tell you a little story about that location from when I was much much much younger and dumber. Me and a buddy decided to fish overnight at that almost exact location. We started just around dark and fished until about 0200 in the morning and then decided to pack up and go have breakfast at the Drumstick Café, this may date the timeframe for some of you locals from Bismarck. We went and ate breakfast and came back about 0500 and the ice had broken away and where we were fishing was mostly open water. Can only imagine what would have happen if we hadn't went and had breakfast, probably would have set sail for SD, ice was well over a foot when we drilled out holes. The rock jetty has been upgraded since that time. This was one of my 3 grow up and respect the ice when ice fishing moments. dukgnfsn

Edit: we never drove on there but had a portable set up while we were fishing.

I have pics somewhere I should find of a group of guys fishing the eddy on the north side of the ramp with some open water a hundred yards away in the background. Then a second shot from the exact same spot and the exact same angle from the following morning 12 hours later with no ice left anywhere in sight. People try to apply normal ice logic on river ice and that's a recipe for disaster. Thing with the river is she's either making ice or eating ice she doesn't have a whole lot in between. so even if it's not all that warm the damage to the ice can be far far worse then a lake or even one of the bays on the river itself.

 

[Wildyote]

I seen human tracks to the west of the Merriwethers parking lot/boat ramp last week that went out to the open water.

 

[BrokenBackJack]

Were there tracks out and back or just out? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

 

[JayKay]

I seen human tracks to the west of the Merriwethers parking lot/boat ramp last week that went out to the open water.

It was probably a chupacabra, wearing boots, walking upright.

 

[Wildyote]

Were there tracks out and back or just out? ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Out and back