Yesterday, fishermen had a lot of action with mixed results. Small Walleye and Perch dominated the catch for most, but some slot Walleye were reported; some sent in pictures of over-the-slot Walleye, and the largest was a 26″, the largest I’ve seen.  Checking the ice, the first 3/4 mile out, where the rougher ice was, ice depths were in the 14″ range. Beyond that, it was an average of 12 “, with some spots at 13”. So, in the last couple of days, we gained some, especially in areas with slush below the ice. Much of that froze and increased the ice depth at a greater rate than farther out, where there was more clear ice.

I have been watching the weather closely for the next seven days. Temperatures will be increasing, and there is a strong possibility of rain during the coming weekend. After temps drop below freezing for highs, but not by much, some reports say a big cold blast in January, some others not, and some significant snowfalls. Either way, we need more ice farther out, for sure.  Permanents who haven’t been called that they were pulled the last couple of days should contact the office today or tomorrow. Many that are on the list were not pulled so far and they requested to go out to reefs farther out where we currently have thinner ice.  I am not too keen on that, considering the possible rain this weekend.

We are letting 1/2 tons and single axle wheelhouses out in areas where we have  14″ or more of ice.  Portable fishermen can drive out also.  We have plenty of parking for rigs with wheelers and SxSs, too.  Wheelhouses pulled by SxSs can access any of the roads we have staked.

We will be closed on Christmas Eve at noon and Christmas Day so we all can celebrate Christmas.  We will reopen the access at 7:00 am December 26th.

Eddy