Sawyer county ice?

Heading up to the cabin for the first Hayward area ice trip of the year this weekend. Anyone know what the ice/snow conditions are like?

Looking forward to some early ice weedline walleyes

I have a cabin on Lake St. Croix in Solon Springs. I was out ice fishing there last friday, the fifth, and had a good seven inches. Little further north but I don’t think it sould vary by that much.

was up at my place in Northwoods 2 weekends ago and there where a bunch out on the lake in spooner, but a lot of open water on grindstone and LSO, heading up again friday morning, for deer hunting. will see what is going on when I go by Spring, my favorite northern lake. Let me know what is going on.

copied from the :
December 8th
Hayward Lakes Area Outdoor Report
Steve Suman

“Bob and Tim at Hayward Bait report walleye action is good on walleye suckers under tip-ups, with best action in early morning and late afternoon/evening. Northern pike are hitting northern suckers under tip-ups over shallow weeds. Crappie anglers are catching fish on crappie minnows, rosy reds, waxies, and plastics. Bluegills are taking waxies, mousies, spikes, and plastics. Perch anglers are making nice catches on plastics and grubs.
Pat at Happy Hooker says it appears things are setting up for a great ice fishing season, though so far anglers report mixed results. He says most lakes in his area have five to seven inches of ice, but warns anglers to be careful – especially on lakes with current or springs. Walleye success is evenly split between those using walleye suckers and those using shiners, and evening fishing is better than daytime. Fishing over green weeds with shiners and suckers (under tip-ups) is working well for northern pike. For panfish, hit the deep weed edges with minnows for perch, and waxies for bluegill. Light line and small jigs work best.
Al at Pastika’s says ice conditions vary from four to ten inches, and the big lakes are starting to freeze. Walleye action is very good on walleye suckers and fatheads fished under tip-ups, and northern action is excellent on northern suckers and shiners. Panfish fishing is just starting and anglers are picking up a few fish.
DNR fisheries biologist Frank Pratt says Sand Lake’s walleye bite is fair, but nearly all fish caught are less than the now-legal 18-inch minimum length. The managed trout lakes in Washburn and Sawyer counties are highly variable, Pratt says – red-hot one day and nothing biting the next. He adds that Lac Courte Oreilles and Grindstone lakes iced over this past weekend, and both are traditional and popular early-ice hot spots.”

Jason:

Did you get a chance to check out B. Clark’s report from Middle Eau Claire in the reports forum??? It is a bit old, but that is fairly close even though probably a bit further north.

I will be over there tonight to ref a basketball game and one of my buddies that teaches over there lives across from Spring Lake. I will see what I can find out from him.

Our largest lakes over here froze Sat. perhaps even Trout on Sunday. My suspicion is that you are probably ok on lakes that are small and shallow and you know where any springs might located. The larger lakes you can probably get on, but you will need to stay close to shore until you test it further out. I will try to get something on tomorrow again.

Mark

Thanks for the feedback guys. We’ll be on one of the smaller area lakes. Since the weather looks agreeable, I’d like to be able to get my daughter out to chase some flags….just need (more than) enough ice for us to safely do so.