Riviera Landing

[Maverick1951]

Anyone have any information about the conditions on OT at the Riviera Landing?

[Mark13:33]

Just got off the lake and Riviera, put the house down and got out of there...VERY SLUSHY, supposedly from Riviera all the way down past Amor Park as the NorthWest side of the lake was the last to freeze. Talked to a guy at the access...numerous spots with 20 inches of ice but also found numerous spots with 6 inches...shakey deal

[Gissert]

20 inches? Really? Was that wind blown stuff that had stacked up and then frozen?

The reason I am curious as we were on the west end last weekend, an never found much more that 10, with some spots only having 5 or 6. I have never seen such variable conditions on Ottertail. That snow really screwed up what is normally a very consistant ice sheet.

The closer we got to Amor point, the more slush we encountered.

We fished a smaller lake in the afternoon that was also a slush monster, but it had 12-13 inches where we were located.

[Maverick1951]

Is anyone driving vehicles out of Riviera yet? If so, is there any plowed roads to the east?

[Gissert]

I am not sure the conditions out of Riviera, but I do know this - there has not been much ice made in the last two weeks.

A truck dropped thru in the middle of Rush last week.

I would think long and hard about bringing a vehicle out yet. You'd probably be ok, but conditions are far from ideal for heavy rigs. You can go from 13 inches to six or seven in just a few yards.

[fishermatt]

Please do not try to drive a vehicle off the Riviera access. There is only 6 inches of ice in some spots as of Wednesday, and most areas only have 8-9 inches, where the top 3 is just frozen slush so it's weak. There were no plowed roads as of Wed. If you do decide to drive your vehicle out I suggest only going over water shallower than the top of your truck, so when the truck hits the bottom of the lake you can get out by climbing on top of your truck. Is your Life worth a few dink walleyes??

[ChuckN]

I haven't been on OT in awhile (there was 6-8" in the middle of the lake over a week ago), but on another big lake in the area the slush went crazy this week. Some spots of 6" of water I bet.

The conditions are NOT good for vehicles right now on any lake IMO. Ice is never safe, especially this year....it's terribly inconsistent!

We need serious cold to improve conditions.

[JeffS]

I know the ice out from Greystone is only 10 inches thick and that was last Saturday. 4-wheelers or sleds are the only modes of transportation that anyone should consider on larger lakes like Ottertail.

If the thought of drowning in a truck doesn't keep people from driving on the ice right now, just think of the pollution that a vehicle submerged in the lake can release: oil, gas, rust, etc. This can hurt the walleye population.

[Maverick1951]

Thanks for all of the information and advice. If and when they do start driving it would be nice to know.

[LARZ]

I just got back from Ottertail today. We fished off of Pelican Bay access and there was some truck traffic out to the first break, but we chose to drive the 4-wheeler. We fished about 3/4 mile out and fished anywhere from 13-24' and in 13' we had about 16" of ice but not far away in 24' we had 11". As far as fishing goes, we caught quite a few 10-12" eyes, 1-24" 1-25" and a few eaters most of the perch were small. There are plenty of slush pockets out there also, but for the most part travel wasn't bad with the 4-wheeler(we only got stuck once) Hope this helps.

[Maverick1951]

Anyone have an update on the conditions at and around Riviera?

[Gissert]

We went out of Pelican yesterday, and there were lots of big trucks out. The thickest ice we found was 15 inches. The farther to the west we went, the thiner the ice got.

[Maverick1951]

Thanks, Gissert. With the warm weather last week, I assume getting around is a little easier. This next cold snap should help the conditions. I will be up there this coming weekend and will post the results when I get back.

[Maverick1951]

On more request on ice conditions and travel out of Riviera. We are heading up tomorrow, so if anyone knows anything that would be great. Thanks.