Ice Fishing prediction

  • Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 6, 2013 at 3:58 pm #1305522

    Last week I posted about ice starting to form on local lakes; on Sunday morning I arrived at an undisclosed body of water in Ely and behold a 1/2″ of ice had formed on the lake that night! I took some pictures of the ice but they are on my home computer so I will add them to this post tonight when I get back from work.
    As for the subject line of this post I predict I will be ice fishing by the end of the Minnesota Rifle Deer Season, if anyone is wanting to join me send me some PMs and I’ll keep you posted as to when I am going out on the ice. I will of course prefish the area to make certain it is safe to go out. The lakes here in ely all reach a level of safety at different times, so one cannot simply go out on any lake just because one was safe! So if you are coming to Ely for early ice please please please ask around for safe conditions, and DO NOT take it for certain, always test the ice yourself, slowly, on foot, and during visable light hours, using safety equipment and common sense!

    IceAsylum
    Wisconsin Dells WI
    Posts: 956
    November 6, 2013 at 4:07 pm #1204178

    Great all around post.

    jld
    Holmen
    Posts: 813
    November 6, 2013 at 4:20 pm #1204185

    I thought I was the only one jonesing for ice! I have line on my rods and fired up my auger. I think the arrival of my TUC noodle started all this. Can’t wait.

    mplspug
    Palmetto, Florida
    Posts: 25026
    November 6, 2013 at 4:52 pm #1204199

    There comes a point in time in the autumn where I say it might as well get cold enough to make hard water. The now last night has gotten me to that point.

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 6, 2013 at 5:15 pm #1204204

    Quote:

    I thought I was the only one jonesing for ice! I have line on my rods and fired up my auger. I think the arrival of my TUC noodle started all this. Can’t wait.


    It’s a love/hate relationship for me. I’m still taking my boat out 3-4 times a week, as the Walleye fishing has been a blast, but with Deer Hunting around the corner I will have a nice distraction during the ice formation period and then it is game on-on the ice! I will have to check on the regs, but if it is a slow deer season I may be early ice fishing with my rifle at my side just in case. Oh the glory of the national forest lined lakes of the Northwoods!

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 6, 2013 at 11:33 pm #1204288

    Here are those pictures of the ice as promised!

    Water was 37.3 degrees F



    johnnyg105
    Hugo, MN
    Posts: 221
    November 7, 2013 at 11:06 am #1204362

    Nice!

    I know Ely is north of me, I figure I’ll start heading that way and by the time I get up there the lakes should have fishable ice

    Frenchman
    West Central Indiana
    Posts: 414
    November 7, 2013 at 12:13 pm #1204374

    AWESOME! only 2.5 more inches and us IN boys would be on it!

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 7, 2013 at 12:45 pm #1204379

    That bit has already melted, but our nights are dipping into the teens now and the water temps are in the right zone for building solid ice so as long as the day time temps don’t spike back up we should have that golden 3″ soon enough! AccuWeather is predicting temp highs ranging from 35-41 for the 15th-20th now… that is hopefully too far out yet for accuracy, so I’ll just keep the updates rolling in as we go.

    johnnyg105
    Hugo, MN
    Posts: 221
    November 7, 2013 at 1:15 pm #1204383

    Appreciate the updates

    Joel Nelson
    Moderator
    Southeast MN
    Posts: 3137
    November 7, 2013 at 3:43 pm #1204431

    GREAT thread Putnam. This is causing more than a few of us to scramble for deer AND ice season simultaneously.

    Joel

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 7, 2013 at 4:10 pm #1204445

    Quote:

    GREAT thread Putnam. This is causing more than a few of us to scramble for deer AND ice season simultaneously.

    Joel


    Thanks Joel,
    I get a LOT of free time from October through April so naturally I get extremely excited when this time of year rolls around. Stumbling on this site a little while back has been everything I needed to keep my sanity and share my passion! There is a great community here, and there will always be something I can take away from a post here and there, and hopefully there will also be something I can provide to give back as well.

    Justin Phillips
    Bloomer, WI
    Posts: 129
    November 7, 2013 at 4:22 pm #1204453

    Our farm pond got a thin layer of ice on it this morning here in western wisconsin, getting even more jazzed now!

    bosman
    DeSoto, WI
    Posts: 914
    November 8, 2013 at 5:21 pm #1204796

    The cold air mass forming in the Yukon is massive. -22F in Dawson this morning. Couple fronts with a favorable upper jet will usher it southeast in quick fashion.
    Pool 9 Mississippi river backwater fishable ice by Thanksgiving is a possibility this year. But I’ll be happy with safe ice by the 1st Saturday in December in my neck.

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 8, 2013 at 5:41 pm #1204804

    That’s what I like to hear! I should have another update on ice progression here by the end of the weekend as well!

    redriverave
    Posts: 11
    November 8, 2013 at 6:22 pm #1204817

    Woke up to thin layer of ice this morning on Sauk River in Cold Spring. Next few days of Cold Front will really speed things up! Its a race to spear first Northern

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 11, 2013 at 1:42 am #1205087

    Well there was a solid inch of ice Saturday on a local lake… Thanks to the snow (thanks a lot Dave) it slushed up and sunk, hoping the 6 degrees tonight and a high of 12 tomorrow will make some good ice!

    sinister-fishing
    Omaha, Ne for now
    Posts: 293
    November 11, 2013 at 2:13 am #1205095

    Great pics of the ice! oh man I’m driving north as soon as there’s enough ice. I don’t care if its just for a day

    Dave Koonce
    Moderator
    Prairie du Chien Wi.
    Posts: 6946
    November 11, 2013 at 10:21 am #1205118

    Quote:

    Well there was a solid inch of ice Saturday on a local lake… Thanks to the snow (thanks a lot Dave) it slushed up and sunk, hoping the 6 degrees tonight and a high of 12 tomorrow will make some good ice!

    Sorry

    bigstorm
    Southern WI
    Posts: 1454
    November 11, 2013 at 3:34 pm #1205174

    Its going to be at least a month for me in southern WI. Still out in the boat on weekends.

    Dave Koonce
    Moderator
    Prairie du Chien Wi.
    Posts: 6946
    November 11, 2013 at 4:39 pm #1205192

    Quote:

    Quote:

    Well there was a solid inch of ice Saturday on a local lake… Thanks to the snow (thanks a lot Dave) it slushed up and sunk, hoping the 6 degrees tonight and a high of 12 tomorrow will make some good ice!

    Sorry

    Hey Ben !!!
    it’s snowing here now

    tccat
    Minneapolis, MN.
    Posts: 195
    November 11, 2013 at 5:31 pm #1205204

    ice forming fast around leech. saw a couple small lakes fully iced up with about 1/2″-1″.

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 11, 2013 at 6:41 pm #1205217

    Quote:

    ice forming fast around leech. saw a couple small lakes fully iced up with about 1/2″-1″.


    Hopefully it lasts through the warmer weather later this week and builds quickly TC!

    Ben Putnam
    Saint Paul, MN
    Posts: 1001
    November 11, 2013 at 6:44 pm #1205218

    Quote:

    Quote:

    Quote:

    Well there was a solid inch of ice Saturday on a local lake… Thanks to the snow (thanks a lot Dave) it slushed up and sunk, hoping the 6 degrees tonight and a high of 12 tomorrow will make some good ice!

    Sorry

    Hey Ben !!!
    it’s snowing here now


    That’s what we get Dave for trying to make our own weather arrangements, without consulting old man winter first!

    jeremystouffer
    Posts: 15
    November 12, 2013 at 5:03 am #1205356

    iv been out checkin the new products,bought my new frabill icesuit,jason mitchell meatstick set up and drove from eau claire wi to rodgers mn to check out there setup,booked a trip to lake of the woods and to webster south dakota.BRING ON THE ICE!!!!

    tccat
    Minneapolis, MN.
    Posts: 195
    November 12, 2013 at 6:22 am #1205362

    Quote:

    Quote:

    ice forming fast around leech. saw a couple small lakes fully iced up with about 1/2″-1″.


    Hopefully it lasts through the warmer weather later this week and builds quickly TC!

    Lets be honest with ourselves here, it won’t. lol!

    smokinbobo
    Monticello / Guthrie, MN
    Posts: 382
    November 12, 2013 at 1:00 pm #1205378

    Quote:

    Woke up to thin layer of ice this morning on Sauk River in Cold Spring. Next few days of Cold Front will really speed things up! Its a race to spear first Northern

    Just remember spearing season doesn’t open until Dec. 1 regardless of ice conditions….

    smokinbobo
    Monticello / Guthrie, MN
    Posts: 382
    November 12, 2013 at 1:09 pm #1205381

    I saw one of my small up north favorites frozen over on Saturday. With temps never getting above 15 yesterday with a good breeze to blow the flurries off, single digits last night and the short days / cool nights the rest of the week I’m thinking I need to make room for the Strike Master Glide Lite, my ice chisel, a Marcum and a couple of rods in the truck when I head back up on Thursday night. Those little bucks I let pass this weekend better watch it now

    scmelik
    South Dakota
    Posts: 238
    November 12, 2013 at 1:36 pm #1205389

    my duck sloughs were all ice up this weekend and with the cold temps yesterday and last night I’m hoping the bigger lakes will start getting some good ice around the edges. Unfortunately its suppose to be up into the upper 40’s around here all week so we might loose what we got and have to start over.

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