ice conditions?

[angleworm]

Anyone know of any fishable ice in Pennington area? I'm thinking maybe Moose, Pimushe or Gilstad.

[Drake]

Folks in the area are just starting to walk out on the lakes the past couple of days, so not many reports on fishable ice in that area right now, but will have some anglers out there next weekend. One lake to watch out for is Rabideau because it does have some springs in the lake.

On Blackduck Lake, the ice is measuring 4" to 8" of ice (when we had those warmer days a couple of weeks ago it opened up the center of the lake, so that area is thinner). Had one group that played it safe and walked out this weekend and talked to a couple others who did go out on their four wheelers. Fishing wise, one group just had a couple of fish, while the other anglers said they limited out on walleyes and the largest caught was a ten pounder. Again, there are some thinner spots out there, so be careful. Upper Red is measuring 8"-12" at this time.

FYI-The DNR recommended guidelines is 4" of clear, solid ice for travel on foot; 5" minimum for snowmobiles and four wheelers; 8"-12" for cars and Small trucks"

With the temps the way they are, we are going to be making ice; right now the temp is -4, with a high today and tomorrow in the single digits.

[Drake]

BLACKDUCK LAKE

Blackduck Lake is measuring at least 8" of ice out there now. There is still some snow coverage from the drifts. There are some houses out there, that have been pulled out by wheelers. Sorry, but no fishing reports for the past couple of days. One person spotted a vehicle out there, but remember the following DNR guidelines minimum ice thickness:

4" of solid ice for foot traffic

5" of solid ice for snowmobiles and ATV's

8"-12" for cars and small trucks.

UPPER RED LAKE

Just made some calls to the access owners at Upper Red Lake to find out what they are recommending for this weekend. From north to southshore here is what I found out:

Hudecs~4 wheelers and snowmobiles are allowed out on the lake, no vehicles out at this time as the temps melted the snow causing slush in some areas. Ice is approximately 12". His area is marked approximately 2 miles out. Since he has not plowed, Don is not charging for lake access this weekend.

Hillmans~4 wheelers and snowmobiles this weekend. Buddy has been measuring a foot or more of ice. His road is marked approximately 6.6 miles out. Folks have been northern fishing and even a few nice perch have been caught. They are charging for lake access this weekend.

Westwind~4 wheelers and snowmobiles this weekend. They have measured 10-12" of ice and have been out approximately four miles. They are currently planning on plowing on the 15th, so no charge for lake access this weekend.

Rogers~4 wheelers and snowmobiles. Jerry has it marked 2.5 miles out. Jerry has posted "Just as I thought, the weather warms up and the ice cracks, two places’s in the first mile, normally a crack is not a problem but it is when we only have 12 inches of ice I have some real concern about crossing it with a truck. So far all we have seen is walleyes and a few perch, the cold weather this week and new ice has kept the few fishermen here close to my markers, as soon as we get a few more fishermen out there we will locate a few crappies." They are charging for lake access this weekend.

Morts~4 wheelers and snowmobiles; anticipating vehicle traffic next week. They are measuring 12" or better, but where the snow drifts were, those areas could be less. No charge for lake access this weekend.

WEATHER FORECAST

Friday~Light snow this evening will give way to snow showers late. Low 17 degrees. Winds WSW 10-15mph. 60% chance of snow, accumulations one inch or less.

Saturday~High 27; Low 14. 30% chance of flurries and snow showers. Winds NW 10-20mph during the day, then calming down to 5-10mph WNW during the evening hours.

Sunday and Monday~High 30; low mid 20's. Occassional flurries possible

Tuesday through Thursday~Highs in the mid 20's; lows in the low teens, occassional flurries possible.

Temperatures to drop down next weekend, with highs in the teens and lows around zero.

[woodman]

I braved the wind this morning on the duck and man was that a brave thing to do!

We hit the lake around 7am and started drilling holes in about 10' of h2o and saw lots of perch sight fishing as soon as we could see bottom. Only caught 2 average perch. We braved the wind again and went out to 15' and caught one nice hammer handle and sighted one nice eye. The eye came up to my lure and smelt it and then must have been licking his lips, because he didn't want anything to do with it!

There were two others out on the lake. One in a house and one in another portable like us. The house was moved by the time we left @ 9:30.

I introduced a buddy to Porta Sailing today. He was laughing his hinny off when I went to drill holes to scout a little.

It was nice to get out and test the equipment for the first time this season.

I did measure 10 inches today. I was amazed that that big house was out there on the lake already. We walked out and that really got our lungs cleared!

Good luck out there and be safe!

[Drake]

The majority of our guests have been out on their four wheelers and snowmobiles hitting Blackduck Lake and some of the other lakes in the area. (We haven't had the chance to hit the ice yet and the way things are going it will probably right after Christmas before we do) Around here, many of the lakes are measuring 12", but with some spots under the snow that are measuring 8", in fact some folks out today said that they were finding some 8" depths of ice on the Duck, so wouldn't be taking the trucks yet. Blackduck Lake has done very well for most of our folks with some limiting out on walleyes and some nice perch but some have only picked up a few. Best reports for walleyes are those who are settting up in about 15' of water with a white jig tipped with a minnow, decent northern pike action has also been happening for those using the tip ups in the shallow weedy areas. Folks exploring some of the other lakes in the area have been having pretty good luck on the panfish, bringing back some good size sunnies, few crappies, a few perch and an occassional walleye or northern.

Temps are still cold, but looks like we are in for a little warm up. Tonight we're suppose to get back down to 5, and we've have a windy day with gusts over 20mph. Temps the next couple of days around 20 with lows in the single digits, then Thursday through Sunday around 30 for the high and then starting to drop back down again next week.

[woodman]

Attention- I talked to some friends yesterday that Live on the North side of the duck and they ONLY measured 9" on Chrismas day. Be careful out there and make sure you check the ice thickness if you are planning on driving a truck out!

[Drake]

Yes there are some several spots that are about 8" (where there was snow before~the drifts insulated the ice)~Some have said that they have found 10-12". The warmer days melted quite a bit of snow so now folks are moving around more and finding it's got the 8-9" spots.

There were quite a few houses out there yesterday, most set up along the bars (the best fishing is in the 15'-20' depths). We did see a couple of smaller trucks out there, but most used their wheelers and left the vehicles parked on shore.

We have not driven out there, used the wheeler, and are recommending to our guests to either walk out or take the wheelers on Blackduck and the other lakes in the area. On Upper Red vehicles are going out, but only the lighter weight vehicles..no one ton or diesels.