I waited until early this morning to do the report until we checked the ice roads for cracks.  yesterday we had one 4″ crack on both main roads overnight, but we packed it and it froze quickly. We were pulling across it within an hour. Ice depths out under the snow have been increasing but still varies.  This morning looked good with only a couple small cracks so as far as I’m concerned we are good to go.  Most ice depths off the roads range from 13″-16″.  Ice depths on the roads are 18″ plus so we are doing pretty good.  When we get 3 miles out in the south gravel ice depths are considerably less. (When you get out that far it is mostly the new ice that formed when the lake froze, while in closer we have a lot of old ice that pushed towards us when the lake was freezing and that is why its thicker). I won’t be plowing out there until after the weekend.  We have accessibility to the normal reefs we go to, Graveyard, Banana, Tundra, Ray’s, Popes, Gull and Spider, with exception of the gravel for this weekend. So there is both deep and shallow options for all. With the warmer weather coming I do not foresee many ice problems, there should be enough snow cover to moderate the temperature changes.

Starting today we will be allowing up to 3/4 ton trucks with tandem houses on the ice roads. All will be strongly encouraged to drive less than 8 mph to keep the road in good shape for others. NO wheelhouses will be allowed out of our access after dark period.  I’m sure fishermen have heard what unfortunately happened up the west side a day ago after someone was driving around after dark. There is a reason why we always have had that policy and will continue it. Look my last report for info on how we charge for weekend wheelhouse fishermen.

The bite is very good in the evening, but the day bite is a still struggle for most in the areas we are going to.  I have moved more houses out to deeper breaks to see if that changes, but I would set yourself up for the overnite and go from there. Most of my rentals are set for that bite.

Keep a Tight Line!   Eddy