Ice Check Drive: Varied Results!!
Our originally planned trip took a detour this morning because of unforeseen access difficulties due to unharvested crop. Instead of doing something stupid trying to salvage a morning of fishing in really high winds, we changed our plans and did a little lake tour for everyone to show how drastically different areas of the lake are when it comes to ice right now.
Keep in mind, the Northern Lakes are locked up and have anywhere from 4.5-8 inches of ice on them. I was out on Alice on Monday and had 6-8 inches and was on Mike’s Lake Monday night and had 6 inches.
Dry Lake did have a side-by-side go through last Thursday. I think it might be a little early yet for ATV’s but there will be some out on the Northern Feeder Lakes from here on out. Do so at your own risk.
East Bay
Checked out behind pop’s and though the extreme North shoreline had ice, East Bay is pretty much wide open and with the 20+ mph winds today, is not freezing anytime soon.
Haybale Bay
Again, the little protected bay has been froze for over a week but the ice doesn’t go out very far and once you get to the towers she is pretty wide open.
Black Tiger Bay
Again, the East end of East Bay is wide open with pretty good waves crashing into the East shoreline with today’s winds.
EDL
The East Devils Lake side looked more promising, however, keep in mind that is open water you see in the top 1/4 of the picture so it is going to be a while.
Extreme East
The more protected and smaller bay to the east of EDL is locked and aside from a little open water from a culvert looks to be pretty solid. That bay is real shallow though.
Stump Lake
This one really surprised me. I thought for sure Stump would be locked up and making ice, it is not. The whole thing is wide open. Need some calm nights.
Mauvais Bridge
While the feature picture and the one above make it look like a primary destination right now, keep in mind, beyond the points and the gap are open water.
We aren’t recommending anyone to go out without first drilling the ice. It is extremely early, lots of open water still, and no one should go out alone. Always have at least two of you. You never know when a drift insulated the ice or if a crack is new. If you are going to venture out, carry a set of these with you:
Remember: NO ICE IS SAFE ICE!!
Good Luck Out There!
Keep up good work like report’s