Will Winnie be ice-free

[boatfixer]

And remember.. f i s h s l o w

[Gary Crichton]

You are correct. Deeper is not a bad thing. Providing you can get there. (Positive thinking ice is going to be out in time).........

[Pro V's R Us]

Where is everyone staying? Maybe we should all meet up for a beer. We are staying down at McArdles.

Brent

[Elcapitan]

Does anyone know if there is still snow on the ground around Winnie?? Was planning on opening the cabin this weekend and raking the yard but if there is a pile of snow I don't want to go.

[EXTREME]

They got a decent amount of snow last weekend, but I would be willing to bet that it is almost gone now. Supposed to be a strong south wind today...switching to east tomorrow. That is what we need...warmth and strong winds...preferably out of a different direction every day!

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

I talked to one of the Resort owners on Winnie last night & he said they were ice fishing last week and the ice was at "full depth".

He thought it would be close if the ice will be off by opener..... Obviously if we get warm sunny days & rain, we'll be ok. If it's cloudy & cool, she'll be close...

[boatfixer]

It's pretty much all gone around Grand Rapids. The only snow left is where it was piles or pushed up. C'mon up and start raking!

[Gary Crichton]

That is not what we want to hear FFAL. I also hope when it does go the ice does not do what it did last year. Highbanks boat house took a direct it with the ice, but our place was spared.

FFAL I will be awaiting your ice breaker to come through.

High Banks will be our launch point, depending on the wind and ice. It was cold enough up there last nite that it MADE an inch of ice.

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Ugh.

Gotta go now to Weld on a cutting blade..........

[Gary Crichton]

Oh boy its 45 degrees out in Bena.

[Gary Crichton]

Hey FFAL How is the welding coming along.

[walleyeguy7]

I was curious to know how the lake looks, if there is still good ice or if its ready to go?

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

Got a huge blade welded on the Keel!

Thinking about bringing out a big ice saw to go along with the chisel.

Been doin' a lot of arm exercises to build 'em up for cutting ice. Just lifted 12 oz 7 or 8 times.....

[bruceye]

I will be going up this weekend and I will post what the lake looks like on Monday. I may take some pictures also if I remember to take a camera.

From what I heard yesterday ... there is still a lot of ice up there. My personal guess is that the ice will be gone "for the most part" by opener ... but that guess could change after what I see this weekend.

Let's here it for global warming !!

[Fisherman For a Lifetime]

...the 12 oz lifted 7 or 8 times was the "same" 12 oz bottle btw... Re-read it and it didn't look right.

[Gary Crichton]

Thanks Bruceye. Looking forward to your report. What is the plan on Friday. I kinda of voluntered to wait, so Suz doesn't have to drive up by himself.

[Gary Crichton]

FFAL I understood what you said. Sounds like the icebreaker is ready and your rigid training program is going well.

[Pro V's R Us]

Nine days and counting, it might be like one big cocktail. Just cubes floating around. Where is the sun and wind when you want it.

[glenn57]

wind and rain is on its way. windy and really cloudy here in ramsey. can anyone tell me if theres any frost in the ground yet?

[Pro V's R Us]

The frost has been out for over two weeks, but that is here in the cities.

[glenn57]

maybe i should of been more clear about where i need to know where the frost is out. i need to know if the frost is out up north.

[EXTREME]

Frost is pretty much out here as well..unless it is really shaded. I have a feeling that Winnie will open up on Thursday or Friday next week...but someone is painting here at the office and I may be halucinating(sp). That will be cutting it awfully close. I will go up there on Saturday with the kids and check out the hatchery info...I will post the results on Monday or maybe Sunday.

[glenn57]

thanks.

[Jim Almquist]

Extreme could you find out from Jeff if the water levels in Winni are up more then usual with the rain and melt off. You would think that the ice should be floating a little higher then normal so it would aid with the removal process I also will be taking a drive on Sunday to see what all the lakes look like in case I need a backup plan for opener.

[EXTREME]

Jim; they are hardly letting any water out(as of last weekend) out of Winnie dam or Blandin. I think that with the flooding south of here they are waiting as long as they can. I would think if they let her fly out the dam's that the ice would go faster. Walked down to the lake behind my house last night. It is about 2/3 out. Kind of funny, usually you see northerns in the shallows by my dock...but nothing. I am willing to bet that most of the scissorbeak's spawned under the ice.

[Jim Almquist]

George thanks for the info. I was hoping the lake level would come up and with the wind blowing the whole sheet around the lake it would become ice free in no time or maybe that is my wishful thinking.

[bassman222]

They just opened another gate at the [PoorWordUsage] this week sometime. The river is still low, but has risen.

The ice continues to give way in front of the dam, all the docks in front of The Pines and Northland have open water around them now.

[Pro V's R Us]

Extreme, what lake are you on?

[EXTREME]

Pro-V; I live North of Grand Rapids if that is what you mean. I hope to be fishing Winnie or Cutfoot on opener.

[Colter]

Extreme,

How are ya? Are you camping up there this year? Looks like were going to see another year like 1996, the ice went out the night of opener, boy the gap was filled with lots of big walleyes. Finding eaters with this cold water might be a bit of a challenge, but with the two strong young year classes in Winnie right now, I think it will still be a very productive opener.

See you up there!