ice on south turtle

[gooseroller]

I will be fishing the 7th-9th and was wondering if I will have to walk out or if the 4 wheeler will be an option.Any help would be appreciated.

[Gissert]

4 wheeler will be fine. I have been running mine with no problem. Some slush here and there, but no big thing.

[student]

Does the spring just out from the access on S. Turtle occur annually? I found it the hard way several years ago and never really got to fish the lake the way I would have liked due to the shivering and such.

[Gissert]

You can never bank on what that spring will do. I have lived on the lake since I was a kid, and in 30 years I have seen it do different things. Some years it is on the point, some years it is in the channel, some years it does not appear to be there at all.

If you stay on the main path to the main group of houses, you should be fine. I have not spent much time down there this year, been fishing other lakes.

Did you drop a wheeler in a few years ago right in front of the access?

The new access is about 75 yards west of the old one.

[student]

No, we were very lucky. A buddy and I were walking out to the group a houses and ended up walking through an area of really thin ice. The crazy part is we were following footprints from other fisherman. We didn't lose a thing due to the otter sled floating, but it definitely taught me a lesson. Do not trust lake ice.

[hert2005]

I didn't even know S.T. had a spring. Sometime I'd like to pick your brain about the lake to see what else I can learn.

[Gissert]

ST has a fair amount of springs, as do a lot of the local lakes. Most of them are very small, and right on shore with very minimal water flow. Most of them just ooze, and are not all that noticeable in the summer. There is one in that bay by the road going to your house. They stick out in the winter, as you can see the melted snow. The majority of them just seem to make the ice a little wet. Some will cause a small area of thin ice.

The spot that is the subject of this thread is a little different. I am not sure if it is current or a spring, but the locals have always called it the spring. It is out in deeper water in the channel area in front of the public access. Some years there will be a stretch of open water or thin ice well after freeze up, and it tends to be in different spots. I have seen the problem area right on that point, and it has also been east and west of the boat landing. Some years, it does not seem to be there at all. I have never been able to figure out why it does that. I have not fished ST much at all this winter, but there seems to be a fair amount of fishing activity in that area.

I have also observed another strange thing. Sometimes there will be open water well after freeze up in the main basin over the deepest part of the lake well after freeze up. This spot has been a couple acres in size, and the last time I saw it happen, did not freeze until after Christmas.

[hert2005]

Interesting stuff. Thanks for the info.