Ice conditions?

Walleyestudent Andy Cox wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bass Thumb wrote:</div>
Sounds like at least one person dunked their 4-wheeler in the drink yesterday (Friday).

Yes they did, out of Garrison.

Sounds like going on now is Sheriffs float ice rescue boat is being sent out near Onamia Hwy 27 area.

The resort reported 7″ and invited wheelers and snowmobiles out of their access. The person found a spot the resort didn’t check that was reportly only 2″ of slush. Sounds like a possible crack hidden under the snow.

I don’t blame the resort. Garrison Sports people are straight shooters. That’s why I get an annual pass from them.

Dutchboy wrote:

Oh well, I enjoy the pictures of guys going through and what it costs to get pulled out. As long as nobody gets hurt I guess it’s just entertainment.

Well, nobody got hurt so here’s some entertainment for you…

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Thanks Andy.

Bass Thumb wrote:

I don’t blame the resort. Garrison Sports people are straight shooters. That’s why I get an annual pass from them.

Yes, Garrison Sports is right down the road from me and I stop there once in awhile. Kari I think runs the place.

I don’t know about this deal though (see my post above)…

Many other resorts access are either closed or have been carefully checked and stakes or cones have set boundaries for where and what they’re allowing out.

For now I’m just observing, not making judgements.

I’ll be going out next Saturday from another resort access that was already planned.

4 friends and I spudded out last night and today out of garrison. Today we put 43 walleyes, 1 pout, and some perch topside on three spots we’ve never fished before around lots of other houses. We were within 300 yards of 169 at all times…

Found 6-8” of ice with plenty of snow and some slush in spots. We felt safe so today we took sleds. Lots of people do things the safe way too.

Craig yes wahkon has people fishing as far out as half moon island on sleds. I did some checking in the bay and had consistently 6” or more. I didn’t venture out to half moon however. If you are looking for pike the weed lines in wahkon have plenty of them with the occasional walleye mixed in as well. Good luck.

Thanks for info Mike! That’s what I was hoping to hear

Charlie W wrote:

Lots of people do things the safe way too.

There is, and thankfully. Given the amount of traffic out there this past weekend…it could have been much worse.

Kudos to you, your group, and many others that got out observing safety protocols. As bowtecmike reported, south bays are better but even out of Garrison if you tip toe out, you should be okay.

“Mavericks” on the other hand found the woe of their behavior.

These are from today, Jim Staricha Northland Recovery, Isle MN. Mille Lacs lake…one recovered today, the other will have to wait until tomorrow. No lives lost thankfully.

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Anyone have updates on conditions? Sounds like ice has gotten better with the last couple cold nights. Might give it a go Friday and Saturday.

Is that a side by side dunked? People are so dumb when it comes to this every year!

Beachside is reporting 8 to 12″ out a mile or so as of 12-13. ATV and side by sides….anyone confirm this?

eyeguy507 wrote:

Beachside is reporting 8 to 12″ out a mile or so as of 12-13. ATV and side by sides….anyone confirm this?

Each resort is posting what they are allowing based on what they have checked out and determined to be (safe) for whether walking, ATV/snowmobile…or for some not open at all.

Check Beachside report, likely they are allowing ATV and side by sides. Lyback’s is allowing the same as are a few other resorts in select areas.

gimruis wrote:

Is that a side by side dunked? People are so dumb when it comes to this every year!

Here’s the photo sequence (in reverse order), I’d wager they didn’t go out of a resort and found the ice not good enough where they were going.

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thanks Andy….going to give it a go if I play all my cards right!

eyeguy507 wrote:

thanks Andy….going to give it a go if I play all my cards right!

I’m hoping for just the same this weekend myself.

Good luck and keep it safe.

Found a fairly consistent 4-6″ of decent ice yesterday. The slush is firming up pretty well in most areas, but not all. Also found a couple spots with only 3″ of very soft ice under a top inch of weak ice and a few inches of slush in the middle. That area was scary. One area had 8″ and the ice was rock solid. The ‘good’ ice is still mostly saturated with water and looked very clear like late-season ice after things have melted. Some of the ‘bad’ ice was very soft and rotten and took about 1 second of drilling to get through.

I saw about a half-dozen wheelers and sleds out yesterday. The wheelers were staying very close to shore — 600-1000 feet or so — but the sleds were venturing out to the flats. Tony Roach was on the west side and the Wired2Fish guys were out there in that vicinity too.

At this time, I’m not comfortable doing anything other than walking out. However, I’d be a lot more comfortable bringing a sled out than a wheeler. At least you could give ‘er the beans if it started going through. I’d imagine that wouldn’t bode well for the gear you’re towing, though. There’s a good chance it would look like a trailer park after a tornado!

1/2 ton pick-up parked on the ice out front of Randy’s.

Should be posted at every access.

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Eelpoutguy wrote:

1/2 ton pick-up parked on the ice out front of Randy’s.

Sure it wasn’t a blue Ford Ranger?

Like the one that caught fire later this afternoon?

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We just missed that. Wasn’t that in front of Eddie’s?

Eelpoutguy wrote:

We just missed that. Wasn’t that in front of Eddie’s?

Nope, that’s Randy’s truck…he just got it and was out plowing with it the last few days.

These guys can’t catch a break!

And yeah, can’t fix stupid. There were 4 vehicles on Osakis today, including a half-ton truck. 8-10″ of good ice in all areas I fished, except for one, which had 6″ of soft ice. If they drive over that they’re gonna be Internet Famous.

We went out of Lybacks today. Ice was good and safe but we stayed to their plowed roads.

There is still slush under the snow in a few areas but we found an average on 10” of ice everywhere.

Fishing was decent….

Went out of beachside today and friday. Road goes out just past half moon island. Did see one track machine and a few sleds out another mile but there is inconsistent ice with lots of slush on top.
Roughly 8″ of good clear ice then another 6″ of softer ice and snow on top. We caught some overs and some unders but nothing in the slot and missed twice as many. Overall pretty happy for first time out on ice. Seen a few trucks and wheelhouses out Saturday too.

Saturday went out of appledorns. A few inches of hard pack snow and a little slush then at least 6” of clear ice.

Was a little slower on Saturday but we only fished the morning. My buddy did stick a 41” pike on 4# test. That was fun.

Anybody else out there yesterday for the big boom??? Had a few buddies out there and they headed back in just north of Garrison a few hours after that to find a good size gap with open water and a snowmobile in it. Had to walk a ways to get around it. Got pretty lucky. Got pretty lucky from the sound of it.

mahtofire14 wrote:

Anybody else out there yesterday for the big boom??? Had a few buddies out there and they headed back in just north of Garrison a few hours after that to find a good size gap with open water and a snowmobile in it. Had to walk a ways to get around it. Got pretty lucky. Got pretty lucky from the sound of it.

I was out all weekend in a sleeper house from Friday afternoon through yesterday morning. Probably happened after I got off, but may not even have heard it where I was on the SW side.

An expected occurrence out there though, particularly when we get the temperature changes.

Fishing was slow for us, but given the amount of activity in the area I was at…it probably didn’t help. I managed a few, 1 nice one 24″ and there were other’s in our group that got some bigger one’s too.

All in all, still slow for somewhat early ice but I think better to get away from the crowds.

I suppose which is obvious most anywhere you go.

I’ve heard mixed reports during/after this snow/rain/sleet ordeal. Anyone have any news? I know it’s technically not done precipitating yet. Is walking out the only option this week? Snowmobiles?

I was still finding areas with <5-6″ of ice last week. There were also fairly deep piles of slush BEFORE the storm. If that decent ice softened with the rain, which I bet it did, I’d imagine it’d be walk-out only or, at best, borderline safe for machines.

I saw people heading many miles into the lake towards the flats on 4-wheelers and snowmobiles with 2-3 people piled on. I can just about guarantee they were crossing over stretches of 4-5″ of ice, or maybe even less. Just because they followed a trail and survived doesn’t make it advisable.

Fishing was garbage on the first break in <20 FOW, by the way. I’m done with that.

I was talking with a local at the Y in Garrison last night who has a skiddy at Garrison sports. He was heading to Red today.

I’ve been out there a lot this year. Just passing through from Grand Rapids and planning on fishing if it’s doable (sounds like it is). I’ll fish anywhere on the lake but prefer the NW corner. Had friends on the mud flats last week that said lots of slush. I was just curious if it got to the point of no return after this event.