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So when's it walkable...?


Stick in Mud

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Love this time of year....every year. Having a discussion between 2 and 2 3/4.... in my mind borders on the insane....and my mind is not all that "normal" to begin with grin As th64 mentioned ....way to many variables. Maybe just too old and "shriveled up", but will wait a few extra days smile

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checked one of the lakes I hit for early ice and it was starting to ice over. from the looks of it I should make my goal of November 30th if I fish this lake as it will be completely froze over by then and atleast 4 to 6 inches thick by then. the lake is kind of protected from the wind a little so that helps it freeze up sooner too. the funny part is that the other lake this one connects to is wide open with a just a slight sign of ice starting to form on its shoreline. going to go there again tomorrow and take some pics of the ice forming.

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Love this time of year....every year. Having a discussion between 2 and 2 3/4.... in my mind borders on the insane....and my mind is not all that "normal" to begin with grin As th64 mentioned ....way to many variables. Maybe just too old and "shriveled up", but will wait a few extra days smile [/quot

I am with you here PB, my family is far more important to me than me taking a chance to catch a fish a week before anyone else.

Just plan dumb to risk a chance like that.

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I went out to a lake one year and there was 12" next to the boat landing only to walk out to a spot start drilling and about dropped my auger as it cut through only 2 inches or so of ice. I couldn't get out of there fast enough, but lesson learned. Another time I went out early in the morning, still dark, set up, only to find out the birds were keeping a spot of water open about 75' from where I was. One more lesson learned.

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I way about 210# Some walkable ice for me is when I am following a 300# person. I don't mind swimming, but I like the water to be a little warmer.

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I can't wrap my head around why the charts say a person can go on thinner ice than a snowmobile. Drive a snowmobile into some deep snow or slush and get off, what happens... the snowmobile sits on top, and you sink in to your knees.

Do the math, a person on 2 feet has roughly twice the PSI of a snowmobile with a person and gear on it. I must be missing something ??

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I can't wrap my head around why the charts say a person can go on thinner ice than a snowmobile. Drive a snowmobile into some deep snow or slush and get off, what happens... the snowmobile sits on top, and you sink in to your knees.

Do the math, a person on 2 feet has roughly twice the PSI of a snowmobile with a person and gear on it. I must be missing something ??

Tilt the snowmobile (or ATV) on its side, hit the brakes, accelerate, etc., and you shift the weight distribution, thus increasing the pressure to the ice. That's probably why.

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I might have 3" plus in NW North Dakota by tomorrow! i'm checking out conditions this afternoon. If not by tomorrow, we will in a few days

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Go for an unexpected swim in the middle of a lake some night and you'll be waiting for 6" instead of 2 3/4". Bragging rights to your buddies about being the first person on the lake seems cool. Staying alive is much cooler.

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Why anyone would risk their life just for a few fish always blows my mind. To fish in the dark alone, or venture out beyond shore without a spud bar is just not smart.

If you need your fishing fix on early ice, BE SAFE, ware a PFD, use a spud bar every step or two, carry some ice picks, even a weighted throw rope, and go with a buddy or two. Simple insurance.

Good Luck, I'd rather taste fish at Red Lobster, or maybe fry up a few I froze over fall, instead of getting wet and cold. I'll wait until the ice thickens up.

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I wait till there's 3 to 4. Yes there are a lot of variables with ice but if your not fat and old there is really no risk. You are out of the water before you can even blink, spud bar with picks around your neck you are good to go.

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Won't a fat guy float better than a skinny one?Seems he'll have more insulation if and when he can get himself back on the ice sheet.Just wait till it gets thicker than 3 inches!c63

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There are a lot of factors when it comes to ice safety. You need to know:

1. The ice thickness

2. How hard/soft the ice is...

3. Does the lake freeze evenly?

4. Are there springs?

The problem with the DNR's recommendations for ice thickness/safety is that they really want to over-simplify the issue. You can't really publish "guidelines for ice safety" that are universal... so they make them super-conservative. As a kid, I can remember venturing out onto ice that was 2 inches and it was, in hindsight, quite safe! (wouldn't do it again, though).

The key thing, to me, is that you have to know your lake. I've fallen through ice that was more than two feet thick (soft spot), on foot, immediately after a car drove through the same area. There are a lot of special cases.

For first ice, I stick to lakes/spots of lakes that I know are safe, year after year. Even then, I'm a chicken (and I mean that as a self-compliment), so I bring all sorts of safety gear (ice picks around my neck, etc) and I wait until the ice is 4-5 inches. I'm more than happy to let someone else be the first one out each year.

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Up around the Duluth area, some of the flowage lakes are still open in areas. Other lakes have anywhere from 2 to 3 inches. No snow in the forecast and cold temps at night will have a lot of the smaller lakes ready to fish by next weekend.CAUTION WHEN GOING OUT !!

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No matter how thick the ice is it always considered not safe. Treat it with respect and use as much caution on 12 plus inches as you would 3 inches.

Be safe everyone.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
    • leech~~
      As I get older it's really not just about sending bullets down range.  Some of it's just the workmanship of the gun and the wow factor. The other two guns I have really wanted which I'll never have now because of their price, is a 8mm Jap Nambu and 9mm German Luger.   Just thought they always looked cool!  
    • jim curlee
      I had a guy hit me with a lightly used 1969 BAR, he wanted $1650 with an older Leupold scope. More than I think they are worth, I made an offer, he declined end of story.   You know if you look at the old brochures, a grade II BAR sold for $250 in the late 60s, $1650 would be a good return on your investment.    Why would anybody want a 50 year old gun, they are heavy, have wood stocks, and blued metal.  I guess mainly to keep their gun safes glued to the floor. lol   You can probably buy a stainless rifle that you never have to clean, with a synthetic stock you never have to refinish, is as light as a feather, and for half as much money, perfect.   I'm too old for a youth gun, although I've shrunk enough that it would probably fit. lol   No Ruger 10/44s.   Jim      
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