A man camped on the ice on Ocean Lake in Fremont County woke up stranded hundreds of yards from shore early Saturday after the ice broke up overnight.
“The funny thing is, I got there in the morning, and he didn’t even know he’d floated away. I called him and I was like, ‘Dude, you floated away,’” Jake David of Riverton told Cowboy State Daily.
Something Felt Wrong
David and the other man were camped out in their ice fishing tents. But David said he left the night before because “it felt weird out there.”
He’s glad he did.
“What happened was, the ice cracked overnight” and his friend ended up with about 300 yards of open water between the camp and shore, David said.
“And the funny thing was, the ice was really thick. It seemed OK,” David said.
He identified his friend as “Zack.”
Riverton Search and Rescue brought the man back to shore. His name wasn’t released, and he couldn’t be reached for comment.
Decided It Was Time To Leave
David and his friend are experienced at ice fishing. One of their favorite spots is Ocean Lake, west of Riverton. They sometimes stay overnight on the ice, maximizing their chances at snagging lunkers.
But late Friday, David said he got a foreboding feeling and opted out of pulling an all-nighter.
He said Zack “was still hauling in the fish” when he left to hike back across the ice to his pickup.
When he arrived at shore, he noticed he was quite a way from his pickup, even though it should have been a straight walk back from the ice camp.
“I didn’t think too much of it. I thought well, maybe I’d gotten off track because it was dark,” David said.
Looking back, he wonders if it wasn’t because the ice had already shifted.
An ice fisherman camping on Ocean Lake in Fremont County was stranded after a section of ice broke off, leaving him hundreds of yards from shore. He was rescued early Saturday. (Courtesy Jake David) 
An ice fisherman camping on Ocean Lake in Fremont County was stranded after a section of ice broke off, leaving him hundreds of yards from shore. He was rescued early Saturday. (Courtesy Jake David)
‘How Are We Going To Get Out There?
David and his son returned the next morning and were shocked by what they saw.
“My son looked out at the tent, out across all that open water and said, ‘Ummm, how are we supposed to get out there?’” he said.
Fortunately, Ocean Lake is also popular for waterfowl hunting, and some duck hunters happened to be there, with a boat.
The duck hunters helped haul fishing poles and other gear back to shore. And then Riverton Search and Rescue showed up with more watercraft.
They retrieved Zack and the rest of the fishing gear, and David said he’s “thankful that all my gear didn’t end up at the bottom of the lake.”
But he’s far more thankful that Zack didn’t come to any harm, despite having a weird, harsh awakening that morning.
David said things could have ended far worse than they did – had the ice broken up enough to plunge Zack’s tent into the water.
“I hope this serves as a reminder for everybody to be safe out there,” he said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
