ice condition near ely,mn

Hey guys,
Can anybody give me an ice report for the ely area, im looking to get out sunday up there.
Thanks in advance!

I have been in the office since the big snow, but when I was out before the fall there was 6″ of ice on Shagwa Lake, I would be very careful if you are planning on hitting the White Iron/Farm Lake chain as the current with the snow can lead to some very iffy spots. Pretty much all of the smaller lakes are at least 8″. Birch Lake has over 8″ as well. Sunday should be a good day to fish with the wind direction and warmer temps than the days before and after it. PM me or respond here if you have more questions I will try and keep you up to date the best I can.

I would call up and get a report. This snow ruined a lot of lake’s ice. Of course the temps the last few days will help.

I am going to check Shagawa tomorrow. I heard of one smaller lake in the area that about 3in of slush under 8in of snow. They didn’t check the ice today but said there was around 5in of ice a week before the storm hit.

Thanks Mike, I’ll be out all day tomorrow and Shag was on the list, maybe I’ll see you out there.

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I would call up and get a report.

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Wade’s post earns the best advice of the day award. I’ve been calling all over heck today checking in with friends that have checked ice since the snow fall and many, many lakes are completely hosed in the short-term. Call ahead and check the ice carefully yourself if you do go out.

Thanks guys,
I appreciate the advice.
As for Ben, im looking forward to getting on the ice with you sunday if everything checks out ok.
Mike

Me too bud, I’ll keep you posted

I went and checked out Burntside and Shagawa today. I was pleasantly surprised with what I found. I checked off the Van Vac landing on Burntside. Found 5in of cloudy ice. This was maybe 75ft away from shore. I did not find any slush and not a lot of snow. There looked to be some deeper snow a little farther out but I didn’t feel like walking out there to find out what was there. I could see frozen slush pockets out in the lake. So I think all the snow sank the ice and has locked up with these cold temps. There may be slush in areas with more snow but what I saw looked good.

Shagawa was a bit different. There is a lot more snow on Shagawa. Areas with more snow have more slush. Under the snow and slush there was around 5in of clear ice. Areas of slush that made it to the top of the snow are firming up. Things are looking a lot better than I thought they would. I think conditions will be pretty good after this week of cold weather.

Be safe and always check the ice before you head out!

With the -22 (or colder) temps last night it should have froze up something.

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With the -22 (or colder) temps last night it should have froze up something.

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And it is only -6 right now with a wind chill of -18. Supposed to get down to -23 tonight. This is just what the lakes need!

Thanks for the reports guys.

I noticed the same thing… The smaller lakes seem to have been holding more snow and many spots that were previously slushed have frozen through.. I marked some areas on Shagwa with 9″ of ice. Most of it was 5 though.