Fisherman describes ‘frantic run’ as ice shelf breaks from Georgian Bay shore

What started as a leisurely ice fishing trip turned into a “frantic run” for 23 fishermen when the ice shelf they were on began breaking away from the Georgian Bay shore.

Kevin Fox, who was among the fishermen, told Toronto Today on Corus Entertainment’s AM640 that he and his friend had entered the ice at about 8:30 a.m. on Sunday. He said they walked out about four or five kilometres and drilled a hole to get ready to fish.

“Within probably five minutes of drilling that hole and starting to fish, we — or I — noticed that the ice was opening,” Fox told AM640’s Greg Brady on Tuesday morning. “I yelled to Alfie (Fox’s friend) that the ice was opening, he started calling, and all the ice anglers passed us, we notified them that the ice was opening and after that, it was a frantic run.”

He said everyone on the ice was packing gear and grouped up to start looking for a way off.

Fox said several kilometres worth of ice broke off. He estimated that there were probably about 50 or more people fishing on the ice that morning and, when the ice split, 23 were on the part that drifted off, while the remainder were still back at shore.

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“We couldn’t even see the edge of the ice, that’s how large the portion was that broke off, it was like multiple kilometres worth of ice that separated,” he said. “It was just one person calling to another, calling to the next fisherman, and people who were even farther out. Some people were calling them on cellphones, basically saying that a portion of the ice broke off.”

He told Brady that, despite relatively warmer-than-normal temperatures in places like Toronto, it wasn’t the biggest predictor that day and the ice was “decent” to be on.

Ontario Provincial Police said early this week that emergency responders from their aviation and marine units, along with fire departments from nearby communities, responded to calls for help.

Fox said he noticed the immense response and was happy to be rescued when he was. He also captured video of a helicopter picking him up from the ice that he later posted on Facebook.

He told Toronto Today that the wind speeds had reached between 60 and 80 km/h by the time they were rescued.

OPP say by mid-afternoon on Sunday, everyone had been safely airlifted back to shore with minor injuries, including hypothermia. According to officials, the ice split into several sections as it floated, causing some people to become partially submerged in the icy water.

Though he is safe back home, Fox said he and many other fishermen had to leave behind anything that was not “on your person.” This meant ice augers, strike masters, drills and various other equipment were left behind, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars lost. Fox said he lost several thousand dollars’ worth of equipment.

“So every fisherman out there paid a price, even as soon as they stepped foot off of that ice, every single person I guarantee has left something out there,” Fox said.

Despite the harrowing experience, Fox said he still plans to continue ice fishing but said while he’s doing so this weekend, he won’t be returning to the Georgian Bay shore for a time.

— With files from The Canadian Press

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