Ice Dive near Hennepin Island, Mille lacs 1-25-2014

[DetectorGuy]

Nate and I did an ice dive just East of Hennepin Island in Mille Lacs Lake, on Saturday 1-25-2014. The air temp was -5 degrees and the wind was about 20 MPH. Set up was a cold operation but the 40' visibility under the ice was worth it. The ice thickness was 23" thick. We did not find much here as far as treasures, just a big musky lure. The bottom was mostly sand until we got close to the island and then there were several rocks completely covered with zebra mussels. The wind was so strong that we almost did not use the Phantom helicopter to get aerial footage, but I am glad we did. Here is a 10 minute video of the day showing above and below the ice:

[scubafreek864]

Cool.

Can't wait to get up there as a group again. Fun times are waiting.

[Terry]

Hey John, video looks dandy. We jumped Maple Lake, in Maple Lake, on Sat. the 25th, wind was pretty brutal in the morning, but then backed off in the afternoon. We had 24" total , 21" of clear, but lots of snow, seems everyone took a different path across the lake before us. When can you and Nate do up Millacs so we could join you? Trinity

[Hydro]

Plowing starbursts? With aerial superiority im disappointed with the lack of creative plow jobs :-) my copter isnt made for winter so I cant copy. A slight wind turns mine into a fight to control.

[DetectorGuy]

Because of the 35 below windchill, we decided to let form follow function on plowing the rays... But I like the sound of aerial superiority! Now if Nate and I were the competitive type that would mean more. We are just getting our feet wet with the aerial shots and learning what gets good results and what doesn't. My wife does the Mounted Search and Rescue in Western Wisconsin and I told her that the chopper would be the ticket for searching over the areas that a horse won't walk. I added some of Saturdays still photos to my photostream on Flickr:

[Shooter]

I'm guessing that the joint dive operations should be in late Feb after it warms up and the houses are off. Hoping that team G will put in the time and come up with some hot coordinates. I'm all out of grouper but will have plenty of venison.
As far as air superiority, it is a key ingredient in any shock and awe campaign, LOL
If you watched any of the dive portion of the videos, it should be obvious as to why we plow rays. The amount of light that comes through is amazing. It makes for a more enjoyable dive and really boosts the video quality to the next level. We do have a couple of designs to incorporate this year into our snow carved ice lettering. They will have to wait until the snow sets up a little more and the wind dies down.