We Got a Blast From Ice Fishing

While living along the Ottawa River ice fishing was one of the winter pastimes enjoyed by many. In the winter some hundreds of ice shacks appeared at the mouth of the Muskrat River. I owned one of these shacks. Mine was rather large by local standards and was 12 feet by 14 feet. It was mounted on two large logs so it could be moved from place to place during the winter.

The furnishings were sparse as I had a card table in the middle and four fishing holes, one at each corner. A wood stove and a gas lantern completed the job. One small window kept the shack dark so you could see down the holes and observe fish. The fish were few and far between during most times.

There was a card game being played non stop to keep us entertained. People dropped by for a drink or to play cards or just fill in time with fish stories that were mostly lies or exaggerations at least. One evening a number of us went to the shack after council dressed in fine clothes with the intention of playing cards and not fishing.

Eight of us scrambled to get a chair but one had to sit out. Our gas lamp was flickering and we knew more gas would be required. One of the boys decided to run home to get another tank but when he returned he had a 35 pounder. Our gas light used those small bottles.

One of the guys said he could fix it up to work. I was skeptical but went along with the plan. The repair was done , the gas turned on and a very bright light was produced. He used a rubber hose to attach the propane tank to the light. All went well until one of our number lost his balance and as he went down he grabbed the rubber hose.

There was a loud blast, a blue flame and two wall were moved from our shack. A flame continued from the hose and it flew around like a snake. I finally got the gas turned off and assessed the damage. The covering over the window was still burning, walls were charred black and all of us were minus eyebrows. One beard was written off and the fancy clothes used for council were perfect on the back but burned on the front.

Minor burns to hands and face was all I sustained. Within minutes the fire department was on sight and were concerned as they heard the blast several hundred meters away. We were lucky nobody was injured or even killed. After a lecture from the fire captain and a signed report we quietly put the shack together again and called it a night.

No fish were caught that night but we sure had a blast. I was the last one leaving that night and as I swept the floor of my fishing hut I managed to pick up quite a little money. You see everyone forgot about the poker game. I just decided I won the last hand.