Ely area Crappies and ice conditions

[greatoutdoors]

Not many people fishing around here because the ice is beginning to deteriorate. Some reports have the ice down to 14 inches in thickness, and getting soft. Anyone brave enough to venture out are reporting Crappies right on the bottom, as deep as 51 feet on La Croix. Closer to Ely has them in 28-31 feet. We are expecting some snow, could be anywhere from 3-12 inches  on Tuesday and Wednesday.   >:( Next week brings rising temps/rain, and barring some strange cold snaps, expect the lakes to start opening up around the 20th, earlier on some small ones.

[JohnWester]

thanks for the report!

[greatoutdoors]

Wish we had more info to share, but the bad ice is keeping people at home. I forgot to report earlier  that a pickup  truck broke through 12 inches of ice on Birch Lake, Friday. The front bumper hung on the ice and kept it from dropping completely down, the crew took 5 1/2 hours to get it to shore. :o