Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Ice conditions


jramsber

Recommended Posts

I was hoping to take my kid out this weekend on a smaller local area lake. How does everyone feel about the ice conditions?  We would be walking for sure. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should still be ok for this weekend....maybe. We have 13-15 inches on most of the lakes. Watch for shorelines by access points to start to pull away.

  • Thumbs Up 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

walking yea fine but i'd think twice about vehicles......just my opinion. i'm pretty skeptical driving on anything less then 17 to 20 inches of ice......but that's me!!!!! especially with the current weather!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

well made the trek around horseshoe earlier. there were a few people out.......on wheelers. no one is parking on the ice. only seen 3 houses on the lake.

 

and the ice is starting to turn dark!!!!!! just and FYI!!!!!!!!

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

drove by grand pearl and carnielian today.

grand........access parking lot was full. I did see 2 vehicles out on the lake. most were smart and used other means of transport on the lake. ice didn't look as dark as horseshoe.

pearl..........no vehicles out on lake. access has full but not packed. ice looked about the same as grand.

carnelian.........saw 2 people out...........no vehicle and no ATV!!!!!!!!! ice looked about the same as thee above 2!!!!

 

Edited by smurfy
  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a BIL that lives south of there a bit. He says carnelian has lots of springs in it and wouldn't drive out there for no amount of money.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was out on Grand today and saw a SUV drive out and he had his door of the SUV wide open ready to jump out if he would go through. Some people just aren't smart, to lazy to walk out.

 

  • Thumbs Up 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Fishing Frenzy said:

Was out on Grand today and saw a SUV drive out and he had his door of the SUV wide open ready to jump out if he would go through. Some people just aren't smart, to lazy to walk out.

 

:crazy: crazy.... 

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wasn't out but just drove by Locke lake by hasty on 94. There were about 8 people out on the lake. All walked out. Not even ATV's. Best I can give ya.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was on an Annandale area lake yesterday with only about 9" of ice which was getting rotten and black in places. The lake had 15" of clear ice and I was driving a Silverado on it a week earlier. There were quite a few areas where water had drained though cracks and opened up fist-sized holes within the crack.

 

All in all, the lake was perfectly safe for walking and more than likely not rotten or thin enough to make it unsafe for ATVs at this point. The landing was is pretty good shape, all things considered, but if one were to put an ATV in the drink, that'd be where it'd happen. 

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The lakes on the road into SJU are looking pretty rough.  The shores are starting to pull away, though I'm sure someone could get on with a little ingenuity.  Ice looked dark but I bet it's still walkable...I didn't venture out there, though, so I can't say for sure.

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A buddy of mine was out fishing last night and some guy drilled a big spear hole in the ice and never marked it or out the ice back in the hole. My buddy told me the ice block wasn't even by the spear hole he almost fell in! Reminder to always mark your spear hole and keep a careful eye out to make sure you don't step in one!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yep, I assume people won't walk into the open water. :) 

 

I just drove by today, and the shoreline on the south end is well away from the shore; on the north end, it looks accessible still.  Ice is pretty dark, though, so I'm guessing it's pretty soft on top. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Any of the lakes in the area still have walkable ice? Got some new toys that were on sale and really want to try them out.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was out yesterday and broke through multiple times into ankle deep water as I was trying to step from shore to the ice sheet. Once on the lake, it was about as honeycombed as I've ever seen a lake get. Not easy to walk on, even with chains on the boots. 

 

Ice was 8" thick, very soft, and a mix of chalky white and sickly gray. It seemed to take about 8 spins of the auger to get through. 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 'we have more fun' FishingMN Creators
2 hours ago, matt320 said:

Any of the lakes in the area still have walkable ice? Got some new toys that were on sale and really want to try them out.

Go north or west. 

  • Thumbs Up 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Was thinking about trying my luck at some perch on Mille lacs. Got a new ion 8" and a humminbird 688ci HD flasher. 

  • Thumbs Up 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



  • 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      
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.