VIDEO: Learn Self Help After A Fall Through The Ice

If you're going to hit any large bodies of water in Michigan to get some ice fishing in any day soon, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources is urging all you anglers to use caution especially around the U.P.'s Little Bay de Noc area.

“The ice conditions are reported as quite variable in and around Little Bay de Noc, especially at river mouths,” said John Pepin, DNR deputy public information officer. Several anglers have fallen through the ice recently, either while walking or operating snowmobiles or all-terrain vehicles. We want anyone venturing onto the ice to take safety precautions and be doubly careful.”

We do have some very cold weather coming in but some of the ice is still unsettled especially after the accidental drowning of a man in Michigan's U.P. last week. DNR officers remind anglers that pressure cracks can happen very rapidly and that ice is never 100% safe.

According to the DNR. Saunders Point, Hunters Point, the Fayette and Ogontz access sites, Farmers Dock, and the mouths of the Escanaba, Days and Ford rivers, all heed special concerns with unstable ice.

Should you fall through the ice here are a few tips to get out safely:

*First and foremost stay calm - thrashing about and panicking is the quickest way to drown.

*Let your thick winter clothes act as a bouy

*Lean on the remaining ice around the hole and begin kicking your feet and legs to get your body horizontal with the ice.

*Stay horizontal on the ice and drag yourself slowly and carefully to thicker ice.

*DO NOT stand up too soon

* Warm up as quickly as possible

Here's a demonstration of how to pull yourself out of the ice.