I used to know this useless bit of knowledge, but can’t for the life of me remember. Here is the question.
How fast does ice form? I know it’s like 1/4″ per hour when it is below 0 or something like that?
Does anyone know?
ive always been told its about 1/2″ in a 24 hour period that is if its below freezing all day. but i could be wrong.
-Aaron
I don’t think theres any certain number that says how much ice will be made. Best thing to do is check the lake you fish and see if theres a pattern from year to year. Every lake is different, same with rivers.
Ice depends on many factors. size of the lake, depth, air temp, snow cover, current (even lakes can have some level of current), and probably many others I didn’t think of.
yeah, I know….just for the sake of guessing though. That’s the reason I want to know..
I’m a scaredy cat, I won’t drive on the ice until there is like, downtown Mpls traffic out there, won’t walk on the ice unless I see permanents out there
im sorry, that cracks me up. heck, we were on 1.5-2″ earlier this year….
Cracks me up too, but I’m a big guy, like a party of four walking on the ice 
Each lake seems to be alittle different. Temps, sun, springs, current if any, wind, snow cover insulates the ice so it doesn’t freeze as fast, Deep lakes take longer, the deeper part of a shallower lake takes longer to thicken, and number of days/nights the temps have been below zero all influence the ice thickness. As you can see there are so many factors that affect any given lake. It might be a good idea to pick a lake or two that you plan to fish and ask if anyone knows about the ice thickness of that lake. Making phone calls to the baitshop in that area too can get you some more information before deciding which lake is best to fish. 
Its not an idea that someone is smarter than you but rather a very smart move on your part to check and ask for any information that others may know or heard of. We ALL learn from each others sharing and thats why its so very important for people to share, ask, answer, and take part in these topics. No one person knows everything but we can get alot of answers and learn alot by each of us sharing/posting. Its a very quick way to speed up the learning process. And things are always changing it seems in the fishing world so its a very good way to try stay on top of things which will help each one of us to enjoy our time on the water more whether its soft or hard water.
Thanks, Bill
Quote:
im sorry, that cracks me up. heck, we were on 1.5-2″ earlier this year….
Now Bigfish…be fair…..you didn’t mention you were walking over 2 feet of water!
I’m not a big guy (at least in my mind 
) and I’m the same way….even in 2 – 3 feet of water…I like thick ice!
Brian(chicken doo-doo)k 
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
