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Are you crazy?


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Went by Long Lake(next to wayzata)yesterday(21st) and I could not believe it there was a truck out on the ice, half way across the lake, gotta be crazy to do something like that this time of year, that ice has got to be getting weak. Im just waitin for the open water now, GL everyone that fishes.

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poeple have been driving all over spring lake this week - there nuts! i still dont get why when the ice gets a little shady everyone just drives faster..... then there is the whole "well that guy is driving and he is ok" crowd. i think part of the problem is the owner at prior lake bait is telling everyone there is 16 inches of ice on spring. although he is much nicer and a good guy to chat with compared to the last owner he really is sticking his neck out on this one.....

we had 14 inches on sunday and the top 6 was refrozen slush and snow. the only reason the water is that high in the hole is from all the weight of the snow. i would say at best there is 8-10 inches of good ice on spring lake - at best.

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Sorry dude, but that is just not accurate. I fished Spring on Sunday afternoon and I drove my Explorer on. I drilled many holes and there is a solid 16" out there. No problem whatsoever. It has been getting into the teens every night lately and freezing whatever melted during the day right back down. It is going to go fast with the heat of the sun this time of year, but I would still drive on tomorrow if I was going. You are being a bit dramatic.

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Fished Sarah last night...plenty of solid ice for driving...like 14-16".

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I second that Calvinist...the ice right now looks the best it has all season. That was a long walk back last night without a lantern.

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ya i only live on the lake and fish it every day so what would i know -

just cause you had 16 inches does not mean there is 16 inches of good ice. like i stated - the first 6-7 inches is refrozen slush and snow. before we had all this snow we were under 13 inches of "ice" with the top of that being beatin by the sun. then it snowed and got cold - ya all that slush refroze but there is no way you can call that "good ice". plus the fact that the top few inches were shot. your explorer is most likely fine, those are very light trucks and your right it has been cold at night. that refrozen ice is not strong and holds no weight. thats why your drill zips right thru thos first few inches and the ice shavings are so big. there is no way i would drive a full size truck out there.

you want to here what i have to say or not thats your own choice. i watch this ice daily and really truely feel the ice is unsafe for driving. there is just to much crap ontop of whats left of the good ice. this snow/cold should keep things around a bit longer but not going to make anything better - i am staying with my wheeler.

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Mtreno is there any way to get on the lake(walking) other then from the access.. Its a long walk..Wondering if you can park somewhere closer..

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ya you can park and walk down from the north shore. drive around the lake and you will see all the trucks. they walk down on the snowmobile trail if you know where that is or have that map. if not you can see it and where people have been walking. much shorter walk.

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Its not the ice on the main lake one needs to worry about this time of year.. Its the ice at shore.

I'm done ice fishing for the year and I really dont care. If I wer going out, I would be on the wheeler. Another week, maybe week and a half and people are going to be plank walking if they want to fish on many bodies of water.

Good luck all.. just be safe.

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If you are getting on the lake at the snowmobile access you have to cross a board to get on the ice or you can go down the steep part and walk on. at least that is what it was like last tues. With the warm temps we have coming we may need a longer board to cross over to the ice.The next time I'll have a open day to get out there won't be till sun. sure hope I'm still able to get on the north side by then.

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ok, I'm done driving on the ice this year, but I'm not done fishin'!

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open there already. huh that sucks. if you go a bit west down that road there is another spot people walk down from the road but its a little step. i drove over there to meet the pizza man last sunday with my wheeler. 100 yards west of maple street or maple grove street or something like that.... parking is poor there only room for a truck or two. but another place to try.

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Well, I only live NEAR the lake, not on it and fish it every other day so I am probably not the expert that MTRENO is but if it isn't 16" then what are you measuring with? Is the guy at the tackle shop giving false informaton when he tells people there is 16" of ice? I measured 16 last night. Is it safe to drive on? I guess the only possible thing to prove it isn't safe is the truck that fell through last night.... Oh, that's right, everyone driving on the ice last night made it on and off the ice quite safely! You've got some nerve talking crap about the new owner of PL Bait and Tackle. I don't know the guy but he is nothing but nice and tries to tell people where the fishing is good. I don't think he is trying to lead anyone to harm. I think what really bothers you is he has been sending everyone out to Spring Lake.

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rock on buddie - keep on driving cause your right it is totaly safe until a truck goes thru.

if Dale (i think its Dale but now that does not sound right) at prior lake bait wants to tell everyone there biting on spring thats his own business. he will learn better over time not to send eveyone to within 15 feet of each other. spring lake gets hit harder and harder every year so i never thought the few extra people he sent that way made that much of a difference. the bite has been no better than the last few summers and is starting to show signs of being fished out. then the fish will be small for a few years - then we will be right back again. spring lake has been an on and off again good crappie lake for years and years and years - he is not letting a big secret out so why would i care.

i drilled about 30 holes last night in many random spots. had anywhere from 16 inches (main lake) down to 9 inches - there is open water at all three creek inlets and outlets. some with ducks. every hole i drilled had about 5-7 inches of white chunky refrozen slush on top. the main lake had more of the poor ice than other spots. 16 minus the 7 inches of bad ice equals 9 inches of good ice..... not enough for me to drive on nor enough according to the dnr..... my thinist hole had less than 5 inches of good ice - the good thing is no one really drives there but there were an old set of tire marks right thru the area. driving along the shore west of the access there is 14 inches of ice minus the crap we were right around 8 or so. i saw 4 trucks drive right over this area last night after dark.....

everyone do what you want i just post it how i see it. dont know why i get so beat up for it i was not the one in charge of making/melting the ice this season. you want to drive go right ahead. last night proved to me what i already new. shorelines, points and springs are real bad right now. the main lake is not far behind. i dont feel any of the lake is safe to drive on but some spots are better than others. i like to swim but not till about July.....

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Dallas is the name of the guy at Prior Lake Bait & Tackle and he is great. Knows his stuff and it is his job to tell his customers where the fish are biting. It brings back repeat customers!

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I live 2 blocks from the lake and I am well aware of the tremendous harvest on this lake. Trust me, I would prefer not to have half these yahoos out there. I especially appreciated last weekend when there was a big bag of guts on the ice at the launch or at Thortan's point where the guy decided he didn't want the 3 fish he caught so he left them on the ice (nice ones too). Like it or not though, Spring is where they are biting. I am not a huge fan of having guys set up camp 5 feet from me either. But don't blame PL Bait for that. Blame the guy setting up next to you. Hell, there are even guys on this forum that have posted on Spring Lake threads saying if you don't know where the fish are, go fish next to everyone else. Me and Fishing789 had a "discussion" about that last year. Go ahead and give your opinion on the ice conditions. I think your genuine in your interest of keeping people safe. I just think you are way off base going after what's his nuts at the tackle shop. As far as your opinion on the ice... I disagree. It isn't great but it isn't only 9" of good ice either. However, I do give it a matter of days before it is done.

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I know I wont be driving after the weak ice I drilled through the last time I fished, it was bad...I use a hand auger and it took me less than half the time to drill my holes compared to earlier when it was solid, and it was thinner. You cant just go by thickness of the ice this time of year because it can be misleading when its not all solid. The ice is just weak in my opinion but if you think you can drive out there that is your own choice. I really wouldnt be telling other people that it is safe just because nobody has gone through because they might just listen to you and end up at the bottom of the lake because they believed you. If people drive till someone falls through, theres a chance someone will die. I sure wouldnt want to be the first to go through so I am not out there. Anyways like I said, if you feel like you can drive, do it, but for the safety of others who dont know enough to judge for themselves wheather or not its safe, I wouldnt be on here telling people its safe to drive, no ice is completely safe and this ice isn't anywhere near "safe".

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"...spring lake gets hit harder and harder every year..."

I have fished it every winter for the last 10 years and I totally disagree. There used to be much bigger packs of houses on both of the main points and in front of the east access years ago. You are grasping at anything to make a case for yourself, but you are wrong. And I totally agree with the other posters about having the balls to call out the Prior Lake Bait owner. He does a fabulous job.

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Dallas - ya thats right i new it was something with a D.

hey i have nothing against Him or him telling people where the fish are biting. people ask a bait shops for ice conditions cause thats where you get the best and latest info. i would not put my bait shops name on the line by saying the ice is good right now. we all agree on one thing for sure - we all like Dallas much more than we liked Mike (old owner). i think the shop is better run with better info and gear. plus there is alot to be said by being greated with a smile. i just disagree with his ice report and would not/and dont stake my business name on it.....

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i started fishing spring in 1997 so only nine years - we pounded them winter of 97 and there were less then 30 perm houses on the lake. my posts have nothing to do with dallas sending people to the lake - i am all for that. i disagree with his ice reports - thats all - thats it - nothing more - quit trying to read between the lines cause there is nothing else there onther than what i have said.

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Where is this spot with 9 inches of ice, maybe by sunday(50 degrees) i can back my Ranger in and fish from it. Its been waiting here in my garage for a few months begging me to get out laugh.gif, he's (the Ranger) not a big fan of ice.

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I just had to chime in on this one. I have been in Prior Lake bait and tackle many times and I have heard (in the last 2 weeks) customers ask Dallas if any one is driving on Spring? Not is it safe to drive on spring? Well the answer is yes they are driving out. That doesn’t mean you should go out and do it. He hasn’t been on the lake for a couple of weeks. So you have to remember all the info he gets is from us (the fishermen that go to the store). If you stopped in and told him you found 9 inches of ice I would be willing to bet he would gladly pass the info on to any one who ask’s. I was out sun the 26th and there was still 12iches of ice not solid by any means. And there is no way I would drive my truck out there but I still saw a few out there

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just seen walkers this morning. shore ice is gone on my end. mostly from water runoff.

i think the bald eagle that has been hanging around eating all the left over bait on the ice got hit on 13 this morning. could not tell for sure but the colors were right. just seem a bit small of a bird - could have been a younger one too i never got to close to him/her. been around the last 10 days or so....

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That sucks. There are a couple of them bouncing around between the lakes. Hopefully, it isn't one of them. I love when they swoop over the creek between Spring and Prior by the Prior launch and get the ducks in a uproar.

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I was on Spring today. the snowmobile access on the north shore is toast. The last guy to come out didn't make it to the end of the boards. It didn't stop him from going out fishing though. when we left we moved the boards to a better looking spot. the first guy to go didn't make it one step on the board. we threw some large branches out and put the boards across them. Two guys leaving the lake didn't want to wait till we got it set up, they just stepped off the ice and into the water and to shore.As fast as the ice was melting at shore I'm pretty sure the boards will be floating by evening. While walking on the lake you would hit slush holes and drop like 3 - 6 inches. Ice was still good under it but it was weird. If we get the rain that they say, ice fishing will be done.

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  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

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