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