4 ATVs, 2 trucks fall through Fort Peck ice on same weekend

[Ptah]

You’re rolling the dice if you drive on the ice in sections where the water is shallow. That’s the lesson that six fishermen learned on Fort Peck Reservoir during a single weekend in mid-February.

After a few chilling months, a Valentine’s Day chinook wind blew through central Montana, causing temperatures to climb into the 60s for a few days. During that time, the sun and the warmth whittled away at the ice in shallow areas of Duck Creek Bay. By the weekend, a slippery stage was set for vehicles to fall through the ice.

One by one, four ATVs and two pickups went to the bottom, although fortunately the water was only 4 to 6 feet deep.

“In one weekend, that’s a real record-breaker,” said Steve Schindler, a Walleyes Unlimited of Montana founding member who’s fished the area for decades.

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/outdoors/2017/02/28/ice-fishermen-warn-dangers-shallows/98532382/