This is Lake Zumbro near Oronoco MN on March 8th. For those of you who are not familiar with Lake Zumbro it is a river. I have no idea how thick the ice is there but that is open water on the opposite shore line. This guy was out there on Wed and Thur, I’m no expert but I am thinking that this is not a very good idea. So how many here would drive there truck out there?
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I’m very familiar with lake zumbro and I would never drive a truck out there even with the coldest winter. Sleds and wheelers yes but no my truck
Is that picture taken from the road?
Ah,nope.
Pic taken from Fisherman’s old parking lot and no, that’s not too brilliant.
Is that picture taken from the road?
Parking lot
Thanks. I know here in southeast MN we get 18-24 inches of ice every winter but why would anyone bother driving on the ice with a parking lot within, what, 100 yards? Of course it’s much nicer, easier, and convenient to just drop a tailgate and operate out of your vehicle and leave it running if need be. But driving on ice also is a lot riskier than not driving on ice, especially on some sort of system of moving water.
I’ve seen this in Red Wing too with vehicles parked in the Baypoint Park marina area. Literally 25 yards from the road.
Hey he has to come up with new content for his channel! I think i know who this is and i don’t think he quite understands this lake\river. I personally would never drive my full size truck out there especially this year. i think you should be good with small trucks and cars but this year is real sketch.
I think a lot of these gamblers probably do not own boats so they stretch it out as long as they think its safe? I hope he saves some of those 8″ crappies for me this spring!
thats not a full size truck its a nissan frontier. still a nope for me though on that water
Lake Zumbro is full of springs that migrate from year to year. I can’t count how many springs I’ve found popping up thru the ice in the winter. Personally I’ve flagged maybe thirty over the years. The troublesome part of the springs is that you can have a decent ice road and a spring can pop up smack in the middle of it over night…seen this numerous times.
As for this truck, it’s sitting right on top of a large eddy that circulates to the left and follows the shore past where the old restaurant sat and back into that open water. The ice atop that eddy can be ridiculous thin because the eddy is pulkling the warmer open water in just before the current flows under the ice….where he’s parked.
That open water is open for two reasons: one, there’s substantial current right there and , two, because that water is open largely because of road run-off laden with salt. At the center of that eddy where the water slows one might find 12-14″ of what appears to be nice ice, but with the water temp being warmer due to the eddy and stiff with salt that ice can be really honey-combed. Especially at this time of year. AND, this guy’s actions make the rest of the ice fishing community look pretty dumb even if they’re not out there.
thats not a full size truck its a nissan frontier. still a nope for me though on that water
I know what that is. I would not drive “My” full size truck out there any year.
Maybe it’s an insurance claim looking for a place to happen
Is that one of the “guess when the ice goes out” contests?
why would anyone bother driving on the ice with a parking lot within, what, 100 yards? Of course it’s much nicer, easier, and convenient to just drop a tailgate and operate out of your vehicle and leave it running if need be.
Laziness, that’s why. Walking is just too much energy.
There’s a spring there…closer to shore. My 4 wheeler tracks were right next the the hole that Mike HOF made when his leg broke through. Luckily it was just one of his legs that got wet.
#BallsBiggerThanBrain
I would not be out there with my truck.
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Seems safe to me. 
I drove out on Tonka last Monday (6 other vehicles on the bay) and another southwest metro lake on Saturday (1 truck out before me). About 20″ of good ice on south metro lake and 18″ on Tonka. Snow on top almost gone. Accesses getting slushy. Probably walking from now on. Gotta try the new Smitty sled. 
No way for me. Even though my truck is old, I want to keep it as dry as possible. 
Maybe it’s a loaner.
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