Otter Tail Lake, Minn. - Ross Hagemeister knows a thing or two about being safe on the ice.
"If you drive a fish house or car over this spot, you're going in the water," Ross Hagemeister longtime fishing guide said as he pointed to a large crack on Otter Tail Lake.
Hagemeister is constantly checking the ice on Otter Tail Lake for cracks like one his business partner, Justin Lightfoot, found on Saturday morning.
The massive crack spanned hundreds of yards, and spelled certain sinkage for anyone who would have crossed it.
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"Do not cross this," warned Lightfoot on a video he posted to Facebook.
Hagemeister says those cracks occur more often when the ice freezes during the cold nights and expands during warm days, but usually fill up quickly.
" If you look, it's about two days old. It's healed up," said Hagemeister, as he pointed out an older crack.
Even if a crack is 'healed' you need to check before crossing over it.
Hagemeister suggests always having a chisel on hand. If you can't break through in two to three strikes, it should be safe to cross.
He says even on thick ice drivers should keep their eyes peeled for cracks and more.
" The lake will go up and down. You will cause your part of ice to sag and the part on front of you will go up. You always need to slowly drive out of it. Don't hit your breaks just drive out of it," said Hagemeister.
Hagemeister knows there's no such thing as safe ice, but says if you're careful and take time to check, you should be alright.
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It may seem counter-intuitive, but Hagemeister says ice near the shore is often the most dangerous, because it's more likely to break. He recommends spending as little time on ice near the shore as you can.
