I finally got on ice! After scouting Thursday and Friday looking for ice, I finally got out on some fishable ice Saturday. The father-in-law was visiting, so he and I spent a chilly day Saturday chasing pike and pannies. Of course, the weather that finally gave us a little ice also gave us some nasty high pressure cold front conditions to deal with. Lots of neutral fish, lots of lookers. Tip-ups kept us occupied in between random wandering perch and by the end of the day we scratched out a few perch and a couple 30″ pike for the oil. The much anticipated evening walleye bite never really came on…we zipped on ‘eyes that day.
ICE: What we have in this area ranges from good to non-existent. I was fishing 4″-5″, but this was ice that had survived the warmth and rain and healed with the cold temps. Similarly, bays and coves that managed to hold on through the warmth had fishable ice. Most other lakes had only recently frozen or were in the process-if not still open. I can’t over stress caution here. With the snow flurries we’ve gotten all the ice looks the same and much of it wasn’t usable. Flowages like the one I was on have risen as much as 4ft or more and refrozen around the edges. In some places(like the area I was) you have to negotiate a few feet of new, thin ice to get to good ice but in other areas of the same body it’s more like 30’ or more before you hit solid ice. Many, many places are still currently a no-go even though they look just like the last place you saw guys standing on. Even lakes that held ice typically didn’t hold it completely, so many have good ice right next to a thin crust of new. If you’re not from the area, or haven’t been able to scout and keep an eye on the ice forming, exercise extreme caution. Spud bars are a must, as well as picks; I didn’t wear one but I highly recommend a life jacket and a buddy until this stuff firms up. Our forecast will let us keep making ice, but slowly at best for a bit yet. There is some fishable ice to be found, just be darn aware of the conditions if you go. If it seems sketchy, it probably is-at least for awhile yet. Be safe out there! 
-Rev