Today while being shut down I went out and checked houses that were out, both mine and customers and everything was good.  Wet but good…This afternoon it started raining about 4:00 pm. and by  6:00 p.m it went to sleet and then snow and the NW wind is blowing.  Couldn’t have been better timing, which means the water out there is going to freeze and quit moving with the wind and our rough ice will smooth out in close.  Out farther in the smooth ice it  there will be spots we have to watch out for.  At the least it least won’t be slippery smooth.  Ice thickness was still 14-18 inches in the rough stuff and out in the smooth stuff a consistent 13-14.  Things are going to get a lot better the next couple days for those of us on the south end of main lake, and hopefully all around it.

Something that you should know.  White Ice, (the type that freezes when it is windy), has air in it that helps it “float”, especially when it warmer temps like we have had the last few days.  it also allows it to “bend” easier when weight is moving across it when it cold without breaking up. Clear Ice that most everyone says and thinks is the stronger ice has no air and when it warms up it does not “float”,  It will not support weight well when it gets warm and when it gets cold it gets very brittle when traveled on, especially if there is a lot of traffic on it.   With what we do up here at Mille Lacs that is an important thing to think about…..Sooner or later all of it gets thick enough to drive a Semi on it…..but not quite yet…

No fishing report as we were shut down today and will remain that way thru tomorrow.

I want to give the water and snow on top some time to freeze up before I go out and check it out.   I’ve seen this many times before and it is the best thing to do for now for us here. Things may be entirely different at other places on this lake, but I’m going to make sure  where we are before we go again.  Stay in touch, read the report tomorrow as I will try to update it by 3:00pm. Or give Cindy and a call at the office later in the day.

i guess you can look at it this way…We still have a better start than the last few years… 🙂

Keep a Tight Line!!          Eddy