It always amazes me how fast and accurate something can fall in an ice hole and hit nothing but water. I’ve lost a flashlight, many weights, a few nice fish, and today my cell phone took the plunge.
I thought I had a replacement warranty so I went to work trying to fish it out.
One rake, some duct tape, and a minnow net, and I had the phone back. Come to find out now that I’m at home, I didn’t opt for the warranty.
My Buddy dropped my LED lantern into the hole the other night. It completely submerged but we grabbed the handle before it disappeared into the deep wet gloves and sleeves not withstanding! Another friend dropped his brand new Moto razr into the hole last week. That’s some expensive chum! 
This thread should get real interesting! Lets see here I’ve had my cell phone take the plunge. A few jigs slip through my fingers take a bounce and straight down the hole, even had the pleasure of watching them fall to their resting place on my flasher!
My most recent happened just yesterday, flasher fell off the seat in the hut fell upside down over the hole and the battery came unhooked and fell straight down through the 8in hole
On early ice this year, I was fishing in a heavy duty wind. I had been hole hopping a little and quickly had moved from my “home” hole to another 20 feet away. I heard this sound of metal scraping across the ice. I look over my shoulder to see that my ice scooper has made like a yacht in the American Cup and was sailing towards the deep abyss of another hole. Everything was in slow motion. I began the slip slidding to the eventual target just as it teetered on the edge of the cold murkiness. I pulled a Ricky Henderson head first to catch my scoop. I ended up with a handfull of 33 degree H2O!
Side note, I had a buddy who had a dog fall into a hole. He reached down and was able to grab him by the collar. 10 inch hole…brittany spaniel. You wouldn’t think it…
watch band broke over the hole and down it went. several hours later thought I got a bite and missed but jig felt odd so reeled up and my watch was hooked to the jig, still working. 
Takes a jiggin and keeps on tickin!
The Wife’s Digital Camera with our sons first Christmas pics still on it
that one didn’t sit very well when I got home.
Yesterday… one of the spreader poles for the Predator.
Last year… I had this cool little key ring thing that I kept my light, pliers and a little knife on. I always had it clipped to my jacket, could use all the tools, always safe from the “hole”, that was until…. I took it off so my buddy could use my pliers. He handed it back, I set it in my lap (not clipped back on) a couple minutes later… FLAG! 
Stood up, PLUNK! 
Let’s see. A pair of glasses ($300 perscription of course), brother in law lost a brand new rod of mine (I didn’t even get a chance to use it), a tackle box, pole for a fish house, a whiskey bottle- only 1/2 full so that explains that. Too bad the cap wasn’t on. 2 years ago I was reeling in a MONSTER pike, got the fish turned up the hole, my rod snapped in half, broke the line, reel fell off the pole and fell in. Needless to say I now tape my reels to my poles. Sooner or later I’m sure my sanity will disappear through an eight inch circle of sadness as well. The lengths a guy will go to for a meal of fish. Oh, and I lost a boot down a hole when I was a little tyke too.
Small am/fm radio, sun glasses, rod-reel. Also a couple tip ups when I used to have a 10 inch auger.
-J.
Eisert gets my vote for the best story. I can honestly say through all the years I’ve only lost a ice scoop, that was when my tent blew over and spilled the scoop in the hole, but I’ve seen two pair of glasses go in and remarkably both were retrieved, saw two poles go in, 1 pole holder, a poor guys entire jig box ouch that had to hurt. A couple of wet feet and yeah there was a hole drilled in Lake Neshonoc that would take a kid if they happened into it. But never did thank God. Didn’t you know that each hole has a magnet under it.
Quote:
The Wife’s Digital Camera with our sons first Christmas pics still on it
that one didn’t sit very well when I got home.
eewwww. thats not good.
all I’m gonna say is…..
“knock on wood” 
Back about 18 years or so ago, we had a permanent out on a local lake near home. We were getting into the crappies pretty good, so it was quite a few nights in the house. One saturday night we had a couple buddies out, one brought a whole stick of venison summer sausage, it was froze stiff. We leaned it next to the stove to thaw. Somebody bupoed it and it went straight down the hole… needless to say, it was just crackers for a snack that night… It sounded like a submarine diving when it hit the hole.
big G 
2 Motorola Nextels in minnow buckets.
1 Treo on the bottom of Mille Lacs.
1 wedding ring. Cant remember if that was on purpose or not. 
Let’s see. the bottom half of the auger (thanks mike) I did get it back that spring 
, minnow scoop, boot, CD player, flash light, ice scoop, ice chisel throwing it at the beaver that came up the hole into the house 
, sun glasses, TV remote,
sorry mike your DVD from Blockbuster yep that went down the hole. 
Dang….My wife didn’t fit in the hole.
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve been pretty lucky, I’ve only lost a couple of jigs and my buddies unopened bottle of whiskey, but that ended with a happy ending. Here is his (IDO member Jesse Reding) story, in his own words.
“The catch of a lifetime story: So we were partaking in a little celebration Sat night when my buddy decides to drop my favorite bottle of firewater down the hole. Let me tell you they do not float. Needless to say I was more than a little miffed. I dropped down the camera, and witnessed my firewater bottle that had submarined head first into the bottom of the lake. It was sticking straight up like a Russian ICBM. The only thing I could think was that this hole would be dead, as every fish that swam by would be spooked by it, either that or we created structure and I would have the hottest hole in the shack.
I quickly fashioned a lassoo (sp?) out of the rattle reel line and attached a weight to the bottom of it and lowered it into the depths. Another buddy kept saying there was no way that would work. I just kept telling him you have a 100% chance of not getting it by doing nothing and that this would work. After approx 45 min and a couple of line adjustments the line was around the bottle. Another great use for a underwater camera. I slid another weight down the line to help hit the slip knot and tighten it. I set the hook and yelled I got it. I pulled fast and hard to keep the line tight and the bottle came shooting back up into the shack. Who says a little perseverance and ingenuity don’t pay off?”
Mine did….but she kept popping back up!
JUST KIDDING!!!!!
Kind of. 
Yeah, and she won’t let me buy a bigger boat this year either. I asked her “Why not? You keep buying bigger dresses!” 
JUST KIDDING!!!!!!
I’ve lost a cell phone both ice and open water (while netting a buddies fish). I’ve witnessed from outside the shack while my buddy screamed oh sh^t and came out with a wet sleeve and explained to me that we won’t be having heat today because the mr. heater/cooker went down the hole. (10 inch) I still don’t know how that was possible to this day. We did fish it back but it never worked again. Other than that a pole and some jigs. (got the pole back by jigging a treble with some split shot next to it though)
Fortunately, I havent lost anything down the hole yet. But this weekend at the Hawgz outing on Clear lake a few of us went to Blue pit by Mason City to pass time and catch some trout. I drilled a few holes and the ice was 14″, caught a few trout. Then I went to the other side, drilled one hole 2-3″! Just as I thought hmmm, not good, I broke through!!! 
Luckily it wasnt very deep! I lost my trust of ice in the hole!!!
pair of hemostats that I watched on the vexilar as they sank to the bottom, a tripod for my underwater camera. other than that nothing of great value,,,
watched a buddies cell phone sink to the bottom of a pond on my camera could see it on the camera sitting on the bottom and it still lit up and rang when i called him 
Most of one leg..Damn near broke it. Funny how it didn’t hurt until the rum wear off 
How about a muskrat sticking his head up out of my hole. I left something in my shorts and on the ice!
John
2 weeks ago my phone went down 
I was showing my buddy a pic on my phone when my bobber went down, set the phone in my lap and reached to get the rod………………and ploop watched my phone sink 16′ into muck Other than that another phone, countless jigs, pair of glasses and a lantern. One time I had 2 Buckshots sitting on my knee trying to figure which one to use, orange or gold? Tied the gold one on and through the orange one down the hole thinking I had just tied that one on
One spud bar, a couple scoops, a minnow net, an open tin of skoal, a couple full unopened beers when the wet twelver broke open, and a pliers. The chew tin floated, but since it landed upside down and was open, all the chew sank. Can’t remember anything else that went down the hole.
I personally have never lost anything down the hole, but one time Andy and I were headed out to the lake, and he parked his truck on a side street. He went to open his passenger door, and his entire ice jig box fell out of his truck and down the storm sewer drain. Well, there were some choice words said, and after that we decided to fish it out…we luckily retrieved, but I would say that was a first!
Jigs, finger nail clippers, gaff, sinkers, fork, shoe, remote , and some friends have dropped cell phones while in my house.
I have had my current cell phone for 2 years. It has been to the bottom of Lake Winnibigosh and Mille Lacs during open water and once in the toilet, but it was recovered each time, dried out, and is still working.
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