Mudpuppy trapping-Fell through the ice!

So guys, I don't know what you're doing on your Valentine's Day this year, but we've decided here where we are in northeastern Ohio. We've got a little warm spell. 46 degrees.

46. But snow's on the ground. I'm hoping we can find an ice pocket in the lake that's open cuz what we've decided to do for our Valentine's Day is drop a bait net.

And the reason that we're doing this because the water temperatures are insanely low. Our lake is frozen over and these winter months I've been obsessed with studying about the mud puppy and I don't expect to get one but you got to try, right? This is a great way to spend a day.

So, initially I planned on this collapsible net putting some earthworms and smelt into to try to attract them. But on um some what do you call it? I uh tip, not tips, but advice.

Um fancy fancy feast. I was told get some cat food in there. So, we're going to puncture these tubs.

Not let the food out. Just puncture them. Put them in the trap.

I got some tuna and I've got some fresh squid that I'm going to cut up and throw in there. We're going to throw it off the dock, leave it overnight, and hopefully we get something cool. We'll update you tomorrow.

So, even though the warm weather is in our favor, obviously we've got some very thick ice on the lake. So, there are no open pockets I was hoping for, even by the docks and things. So, at this point, we're debating going through and making a pocket.

Um, also I don't want to risk falling through the ice. We're at about about four to six inches here. Um, and obviously see where it levels out a bit.

So, we're going to tour the lake, see if we see any natural pockets and go from there. We'll keep you updated. So, change of plans.

If you look out over the lake, everything is frozen over. We don't have any pockets, but the ice does seem kind of thick. So, what I'm going to do now is cut a hole.

I figure with my handy dandy Ryobi, finding out how deep the ice is. Oh, that ice might be a lot deeper than I thought. Yeah, cuz we're only like 20 ft off the shore.

Yeah, it's not going to work. Oh, that ice is Yeah, a lot deeper than I thought. We should try the other spot.

What other spot? I'm going to go where that Okay. All right.

What do you think? If you don't think that way, I mean, like, look over there. I agree with you.

I'll tell you this. If you go over there, I mean, it could be better, but so far out nice hole would be a better spot where you want to be is a safer spot. So, I get it.

It's up to you, man. This ice is thicker. And it's 46°.

It's melting by the day. Like, it's going to be 46 tomorrow, too. If we walk out here tomorrow, it's going to be different than it is today.

Let's try tomorrow. No, I want to set the trap tonight. So, yeah, let's get it over in the pocket.

We're going to go over by the bay pocket. That's where the one lake drains into the next. Sorry.

I highly doubt everything is going to come through there, but we can try. What about that guy? That I'll fall through the ice.

Okay, then we're not going to Maybe not. Do not. What is going on here?

It just looks a little less Oh, yeah. Oh. Oh my gosh.

Look at that. Here's the thing. It's pretty thin here.

I can cut through it, but then I got to walk back out to it tomorrow. Yeah. No, we're not doing that.

Let me grab my drill. Let me see how deep it is. Why?

So, we've decided with the unpredictability, the ice, and the depth. You know, our goal is mud puppies. And like I said, I I don't have like a huge expectation here.

We decided to move in. Um, obviously with mud puppies, the colder it gets, the more comfortable they are moving in. So, we've got an opening of the ice.

We're going to start here. It's our first time. This will be a trial run, a fun run.

I'm going to sink some tuna in the trap. I can smell those already. Some fancy feast.

I don't know if I need really anything else, honestly. You want more? Let me get another pant.

I would not bring another Oh, I did. Okay, that's fun. It's stinky.

That's what I want. The stinkier the better. We want everybody down there to know it's there.

So, the reason we're just doing these holes is a we don't want to pollute and get these cans back out, but also the smell is what we want, not the food. So, they'll get attracted to that. It won't permeate and dissipate throughout the time of this.

We We'll only have this under here for probably oh 13 18 hours maybe. Probably less than that. Yeah.

So I'm going to try to walk out as soon as it starts getting stat as you should. All right, traps in. O, I'm ready to go home.

Get the phone under there. That's some freezing water, guys. See, the trap's not even going to sink.

It's really shallow. I I do not have high hopes, but definitely we got to get out of here. I got to get home.

All right, guys. So, all home, dried up, warmed up. Um, unfortunately, in the last video of me falling through the ice, um, I had my phone in my pocket cuz why wouldn't I?

Um, so that is trashed. We lost some footage. We don't have anything to pull in the traps, but we're going to keep you updated.

I got to go basically do it again. We'll try to see what's going on. Um, full disclosure, you didn't miss much.

It was as I thought. Um, that pocket there was too shallow. The leaves were too high.

Um, we didn't get much. So, everything's falling out, changing. So, um, we're going to be setting multiple traps, multiple locations, seeing, um, hopefully these mud puppies are in our area.

you know, we've got a lot of good biioindicating species um in our area and they're one of my faves. So, I'd love that to be one. So, thanks again for sticking around through it.

I hope me getting that cold fall was good enough of a payoff because um we really got to work and find something better for you. So guys, I don't know what you're doing on your Valentine's Day this year, but we've decided here where we are in northeastern Ohio. We've got a little warm spell.

46 degrees. 46. But snow's on the ground.

I'm hoping we can find an ice pocket in the lake that's open cuz what we've decided to do for our Valentine's Day is drop a bait net. And the reason that we're doing this because the water temperatures are insanely low. Our lake is frozen over and these winter months I've been obsessed with studying about the mud puppy and I don't expect to get one but you got to try, right?

This is a great way to spend a day. So, initially I planned on this collapsible net putting some earthworms and smelt into to try to attract them. But on um some what do you call it?

I uh tip, not tips, but advice. Um fancy fancy feast. I was told get some cat food in there.

So, we're going to puncture these tubs. Not let the food out. Just puncture them.

Put them in the trap. I got some tuna and I've got some fresh squid that I'm going to cut up and throw in there. We're going to throw it off the dock, leave it overnight, and hopefully we get something cool.

We'll update you tomorrow. So, even though the warm weather is in our favor, obviously we've got some very thick ice on the lake. So, there are no open pockets I was hoping for, even by the docks and things.

So, at this point, we're debating going through and making a pocket. Um, also I don't want to risk falling through the ice. We're at about about four to six inches here.

Um, and obviously see where it levels out a bit. So, we're going to tour the lake, see if we see any natural pockets and go from there. We'll keep you updated.

So, change of plans. If you look out over the lake, everything is frozen over. We don't have any pockets, but the ice does seem kind of thick.

So, what I'm going to do now is cut a hole. I figure with my handy dandy Ryobi, finding out how deep the ice is. Oh, that ice might be a lot deeper than I thought.

Yeah, cuz we're only like 20 ft off the shore. Yeah, it's not going to work. Oh, that ice is Yeah, a lot deeper than I thought.

We should try the other spot. What other spot? I'm going to go where that Okay.

All right. What do you think? If you don't think that way, I mean, like, look over there.

I agree with you. I'll tell you this. If you go over there, I mean, it could be better, but so far out nice hole would be a better spot where you want to be is a safer spot.

So, I get it. It's up to you, man. This ice is thicker.

And it's 46°. It's melting by the day. Like, it's going to be 46 tomorrow, too.

If we walk out here tomorrow, it's going to be different than it is today. Let's try tomorrow. No, I want to set the trap tonight.

So, yeah, let's get it over in the pocket. We're going to go over by the bay pocket. That's where the one lake drains into the next.

Sorry. I highly doubt everything is going to come through there, but we can try. What about that guy?

That I'll fall through the ice. Okay, then we're not going to Maybe not. Do not.

What is going on here? It just looks a little less Oh, yeah. Oh.

Oh my gosh. Look at that. Here's the thing.

It's pretty thin here. I can cut through it, but then I got to walk back out to it tomorrow. Yeah.

No, we're not doing that. Let me grab my drill. Let me see how deep it is.

Why? So, we've decided with the unpredictability, the ice, and the depth. You know, our goal is mud puppies.

And like I said, I I don't have like a huge expectation here. We decided to move in. Um, obviously with mud puppies, the colder it gets, the more comfortable they are moving in.

So, we've got an opening of the ice. We're going to start here. It's our first time.

This will be a trial run, a fun run. I'm going to sink some tuna in the trap. I can smell those already.

Some fancy feast. I don't know if I need really anything else, honestly. You want more?

Let me get another pant. I would not bring another Oh, I did. Okay, that's fun.

It's stinky. That's what I want. The stinkier the better.

We want everybody down there to know it's there. So, the reason we're just doing these holes is a we don't want to pollute and get these cans back out, but also the smell is what we want, not the food. So, they'll get attracted to that.

It won't permeate and dissipate throughout the time of this. We We'll only have this under here for probably oh 13 18 hours maybe. Probably less than that.

Yeah. So I'm going to try to walk out as soon as it starts getting stat as you should. All right, traps in.

O, I'm ready to go home. Get the phone under there. That's some freezing water, guys.

See, the trap's not even going to sink. It's really shallow. I I do not have high hopes, but definitely we got to get out of here.

I got to get home. All right, guys. So, all home, dried up, warmed up.

Um, unfortunately, in the last video of me falling through the ice, um, I had my phone in my pocket cuz why wouldn't I? Um, so that is trashed. We lost some footage.

We don't have anything to pull in the traps, but we're going to keep you updated. I got to go basically do it again. We'll try to see what's going on.

Um, full disclosure, you didn't miss much. It was as I thought. Um, that pocket there was too shallow.

The leaves were too high. Um, we didn't get much. So, everything's falling out, changing.

So, um, we're going to be setting multiple traps, multiple locations, seeing, um, hopefully these mud puppies are in our area. you know, we've got a lot of good biioindicating species um in our area and they're one of my faves. So, I'd love that to be one.

So, thanks again for sticking around through it. I hope me getting that cold fall was good enough of a payoff because um we really got to work and find something better for you.