Today I finished the road thru the rough ice to the  “Graveyard” reef.  It’s going to be nice to get out where the ice smooths out. Tomorrow I will get the road to the “Banana” reef done so we will be ready for ATV’s, with wheelhouses, portables, etc for the weekend. I made a “trail to Popes Point, but the ice is so extremely rough there I’m not sure I’m going to make a good enough road to be able to pull houses there next week.  We also will have more smaller rentals, 4 and 6 hole sleepers out for those that want to come and experience “first ice” without all the commotion that comes with vehicle traffic and the puling of houses.

Today we had another rental, a wheelhouse and a portable fishermen out and they all had action.  Numerous Walleyes, most in the 10 -13 inch range,  some over the slot up to 25″ and numerous Perch.  Most Perch kept were 9-12 inches and a lot of little ones.  The best part is that this year there is hope for the future and you can spend your day, or night catching something. (Unlike last winter…)

The ice thickness is crazy for this time of year.  I haven’t seen this for a long time.  In the first mile most is 11-13″ in the rough stuff and out where it smooths out is an honest 10 plus inches.  But where it smooths out it is clear “window pane” type ice and it very brittle and will be sensitive to light and temperature changes. With the warmer weather coming it is going to  make some noise and push itself around a little.  With the ice thickness we have, normally would be pulling houses and getting ready to get everything going, But with the early timing and the forecast of a warmer week ahead I’m going to wait till after this weekend and see what the weather brings before we “open” things up for trucks, etc.  That will make this weekend the  perfect opportunity for the “wheeler” and portable fishermen.

Some fishermen will go to the ice fishing shows, and some… will be ice fishing…  🙂

Keep a Tight Line!

Eddy