Yesterday, some areas out there got pretty wet from the melting and rain Friday evening.  When the wind picked up as it cleared around 10:00 am, it started moving the water across the smoother ice area and would build up in front of rough ice areas. So, fishermen avoided them. We drilled holes to the north and west of our houses to drain the water, and they all stayed high and dry. It began to freeze by late afternoon Saturday, and this morning at 6:00 am, the roads I checked in the fog were looking good. After we get the rental customers to their houses this morning, we will run all the roads, redo tipped stakes, and check ice depths along all the roads to decide our next moves.

The bite was pretty good for most anglers yesterday, mainly Perch and small Walleye. Some over-the-slots and a couple of “line breakers” (probably Northern Pike) were reported. I received a couple of pictures of 24″ and 26″ Walleye.

3:00 pm updated Ice depths:     After running the roads, redoing stakes that were leaning, and checking ice depths, we did not lose much ice.  However, in the rougher “white ice areas,” the top 2″to 3″ of ice was soft and partially honeycombed. In the clear ice areas, it was not soft on top at all.  Ice thickness ranges from a pretty consistent 15″ to 16″ within the first half mile out.  Beyond that, it was between 13″ to 14.5″, and the clear ice areas were a consistent 14″ .  A couple of small areas in the rougher ice closer to shore were 18″.

We will allow 1/2 tons with single-axle wheelhouses out in the first 1/2 to 3/4 mile on Monday. Tandem wheelhouses will need to be dollied and pulled by ATV. Individual portable and rental customers’ vehicles will remain at the 5000 lb curb weight limit. We will need another cold night or two to freeze some areas better. With the colder weather coming, everything will change fast over the next few days.

I will also start pulling permanents on the list Monday. You will be notified when they are on the lake. They will be blocked up, but there is no snow for banking yet, so they will be just a couple of inches off the ice.

Eddy

On Friday, the bite was active in the morning with small Perch and Walleye. By mid-afternoon, something had changed. Some fishermen were sending nice pictures of “keepers” and over-the-slot Walleye in the shallow and deeper water areas.

We received some rain overnight, but fortunately, we were just on the east edge of most of it as it moved NE. There is standing water in many areas on the ice, some 2″-3″ deep. It’s good that there are no strong winds in the forecast, but even the west wind forecasted at five mph will be moving the water over the ice as the skies clear off, so some areas will be trapping a lot of water.  Temperatures will slowly drop over the next few days and turn much colder through the week and weekend, so we will be back on track shortly. Some snow would be nice in the next few days.

The fog set in again this morning, but it is forecasted to clear off somewhat, and maybe we will see the sun this afternoon. We have 24 to 36 hours more to wait out the temperatures before they start to freeze up. We’ll wait it out and resume then. We will remain open and continue renting, but we will restrict our access to some traffic, so call the office before coming up.

Eddy

This morning, we have had light rain showers and temperatures above freezing. The NOAA forecast is for 1/4″-1/2″ of rain overnight, ending by Saturday morning and clearing off. By Saturday evening, it will start freezing, and it’s looking like a slow cool-down all next week with some below-zero stuff after next weekend.

Fishing overnight was pretty slow for most. Most had small Walleye, with a few slots reported, but they were few and far between. Daytime, small Perch seem to be everywhere. As this weather system passes, I expect the bite to pick up some.

As it cools down on Monday, we will resume pulling permanent customers out and getting everyone out there along with our bigger deluxe rentals for the following weekend. Keep in mind that there is “zero” snow cover out there at this time. To be honest, it would be really nice to get 6″ of snow out there to calm down the ice movement and have banking for houses, but at this time, it’s not looking like it.

We will be rechecking ice depths on Sunday on the roads and areas we go to and posting changes and plans for vehicles and wheelhouses over this next week at that time.

Eddy