Ice Conditions 2015

[Lee Borgersen]

                        Northwest MN Fishing Report

By Brad Laabs on Dec 22, 2015 at 10:55 a.m.
outdoors Detroit Lakes
Brad Laabs
Detroit Lakes Online http://www.dl-online.com
Northwest MN Fishing Report
Detroit Lakes Minnesota 511 Washington Avenue 56501
More of an ice report in the Detroit Lakes area than a fishing report due to the way the ice season has shaped up at this time. Ice conditions are improving and should be in much better shape by the weekend. Still walkout traffic on many lakes, but a number of lakes will be wheeler and snowmobile ready for the weekend. Lakes that have been iced for several weeks range from 4-7 inches and should be at least another inch over the next few days. Some of the larger, deeper lakes are just forming ice and should be avoided until we have a significant cold snap.

Most anglers that have been out have had success with pan fish on weed edges or in green weed pockets. Small jigs tipped with small minnows, waxies or plastics are producing. As ice improves and more options open up, there will be more fishing to report.

Brad Laabs Guide Service

[Lee Borgersen]

              Ice conditions not ideal yet

By Paula Quam on Dec 23, 2015 at 10:26 a.m.

 A couple of snowmobilers on Little Detroit learned the hard way not to taunt Mother Nature after they - and their sleds - ended up falling into the frigid lake on Friday afternoon.

Detroit Lakes attorney charged with violating restraining orderAccording to Becker County Deputy Sheriff Shane Richard, three snowmobilers were riding out by the outlet channel near the bowling alley where the river flows (a place notorious for thin ice conditions and even year-round open water), when they reportedly ran into a spot of open water.

“The first one made it across, the second one - a female - wasn’t going fast enough, so she went in the water,” said Richard, who said the female was 17 years old. “The third one, a male, made it across, but then turned around to help the female, and when he got closer again, he went through the ice.”

Richard says police have no evidence to suggest this case was anything but an innocent accident, but does say that particular spot is known to draw in snowmobilers looking to “skip” the water.

“We’ve seen that a lot,” said Richard.

In this case, Richard says the snowmobilers were able to get each other out of the water before warming up in a vehicle and then getting the snowmobiles out themselves as well. Although police responded, no rescue was needed.

Richard says nobody was hurt in this case, they were “just really cold.”

Weird ice

Experts say it’s been a strange start to the ice-making season.

“Yeah, we’ve kind of been all over the place,” said Nathan Olson, conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, who says area lakes started out with a good skim coat when they first froze over. Things looked great for local ice fishermen, until that base was compromised first with snow, then with rain and warm conditions. Olson says the rain melted the snow, which caused crunchy top ice, which wasn’t made any better by the wind that kicked up.

“When it gets windy, it breaks things up and you get big chunks embedded, and it’s not as strong,” said Olson.

This has been the mixed bag of ice conditions thus far, but Olson says wind from over the weekend actually helped set the stage for more ideal ice making going forward, as it blew much of the insulating snow off the lakes. Now, every day that passes, that weakened base of ice is getting some fairly good reinforcements, and anglers are just now starting to take baby steps out onto the lakes.

“We’re starting to get some calls now for reservations,” said Dan Berg, owner of Lakecrest Resort on Long Lake. Up until this point things have been pretty quiet for Berg and other resorts around the lakes area. Now, however, things are heating up.

“People are discovering that we do have some ice that you can venture out onto, when a lot of the parts of the state don’t have it yet,” said Berg, a statement Olson agrees with.

“So we might have some people from out of the area starting to come this direction because we’re one of the first ones to have good enough ice to at least walk onto,” said Olson.

Although all lakes are different in terms of ice thickness, so far the sensible anglers have only been walking out onto the lakes.

“We’re starting to see a lot of foot traffic on Little and Big Detroit,” said Olson. “I saw the first one out on Sallie yesterday (Monday), and there’s some fishing on Leaf Lake out by Cormorant, but Big Cormorant just iced over not too long ago, so I’d wait a couple weeks (even on foot) for that one.”

Olson says if an angler looks around and sees they’re one of the first ones out on lake, they need to be prepared for going through.

“Make sure to carry an ice pick on you so that if you do go in, you can pull yourself back out onto the ice,” said Olson. “And even wearing a life jacket right now shouldn’t be out of the question.”

Olson also suggests testing the ice in several locations on the way out to a fishing spot, as ice can be five inches thick in one spot, and extremely thin in another. Schools of fish, geese and springs can all be game-changers on any lake.

“So if you’re coming from out of town or you don’t know a lake very well, make sure to talk to bait shop and resort owners before going on,” said Olson. “And remember - no ice is 100 percent safe, but if you’re careful and pay attention, there is some opportunity out there right now to find some great fishing.”


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[Lee Borgersen]

          Late lake ice-in hits record:

                   Don't risk life chasing panfish

               :fishing2:

         

  Today    at 7:08 p.m.







 

 











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DNR conservation officers Jim Guida and Dustin Miller headed out across a mostly frozen Pelican Lake near Brainerd this week following the holes an angler made with an ice chipper.
 







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None of the holes took more than a couple hits to knock through the ice of about 2 inches. At one point a hole had a spider web crack surrounding the spot and officers decided it wasn't worth venturing out any further.

"It never surprises me that people risk their lives chasing panfish," said Guida, a Brainerd area officer. "The poor ice conditions surprise the angler."

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Area lakes were frozen over even while most outdoors fans were still clad in blaze orange last year. Lakes like Upper and Lower Mission were completely iced over Nov. 15, 2014, according to records kept by the Minnesota Climatology Working Group. That was one of the earliest dates the lake completely froze. But this winter broke a new record—for the opposite reason.

The record for the latest lake ice-in for Gull Lake was Dec. 22, 1998. And according to area observers, the lake and other large area lakes still remain open.

The definition of lake ice-in varies from lake to lake, and individual to individual, according to the DNR. Ideally, observers report the date when the entire lake is frozen over for the first time and the ice cover endures for the remainder of the winter.


Due to the variable definitions of this rather subjective observation, the participating agencies attempt to contact the same individuals each year to maintain a consistent record for a particular lake.

The ice dates are reported by observers, but usually that information isn't recorded in the state records until the following year.

"It's usually after the fact," according to DNR climatologist Peter Boulay of the State Climatology Office at the University of Minnesota.

Boulay said he has heard of some smaller- and medium-sized lakes that have frozen over. But with temperatures teasing the freezing mark, he said ice can come and go. That's a dangerous situation for anyone looking to venture out.

"We haven't had great weather for building ice ... with temperatures 9 to 13 degrees above normal," Boulay said.


Boulay said the El Nino pattern looks like it will persist and provide similar weather through January and March, which could create thin-ice situations through the traditional ice angling season.

"Our main message is that the ice is never safe," Boulay said.

Officers Guida and Miller shared a similar message.

"We've seen varying degrees of ice thickness," Guida said. "In some case 4 to 5 inches. There are still open areas ... areas between lakes are very unsafe."

Guida and Miller noted that the fishing reports from anglers were not good enough to risk a life or the lives of those that would seek to rescue those in danger.

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Fishing reports from anglers were not good enough to risk a life or the lives of those that would seek to rescue those in danger.

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Guida heard a report of a van going through the ice on North Long Lake last week, which has been a popular spot among anglers.

Sherree Wicktor, owner of S & W Bait on Highway 371 north of Brainerd, said she heard of another report of someone that parked their truck on the shore, which broke through the ice and made for rough entry for others looking to head out.

"There's been quite a few going out and it has been pretty good fishing," Wicktor said. "Northerns and crappies are common, some are getting some walleyes which is unusual for that bay."

She cautioned that the most ice she has heard of was on North Long Lake—4 to 6 inches. Other than that, ice has been questionable in bays and the big lakes remain open in some areas.

Miller said they also ventured out on Rice Lake and noted anglers were out on about 3 inches of ice.

"The majority of ice conditions we have seen have been weak at best and deteriorating with the warmer weather," Miller said.

"Most guys are taking it slow," Wicktor said. "They are using the good fishermen's brain."

She remains hopeful that cooler weather will come over the weekend and improve ice conditions. She jokes that the smartest choice may be to drag a boat along when headed out on the ice.

"We haven't seen anything like this before, and we'll never see it again," Wicktor said.

If you plan to venture out anytime soon, Boulay suggests checking your local bait shop for reports on ice conditions. If it sounds safe, continue to check ice depths as you venture out.


Iced in?

The State Climate Office is always looking to add to its coverage of lake ice-in and ice-out data. If you would like to submit data contact the Climate Office at climate@umn.edu


Lake Latest ice-in Earliest ice-in

Upper Mission Dec. 25, 1998 Nov. 13, 1995

Lower Mission Dec. 7, 1998 Nov. 4, 1991

Gull Lake Dec. 22, 1998 Nov. 14, 1959

Mille Lacs Dec. 24, 2001 Nov. 9, 1959

[Lee Borgersen]

 Thanks to  unseasonably warm start to winter, some Minnesota lakes still open at Christmas
 

 


Dec 25, 2015 at 7:34 a.m.








  ....
Minnesotans may be seeing some record-breaking late ice-in dates for lakes across the state, although a lack of accurate data may not allow for much verification.




  ........
Shagawa Lake in Ely still had areas of open water on Wednesday, staff at Grand Ely Lodge confirmed Thursday. That breaks the old record of latest ice-in of Dec. 10 set in 2002. Shagawa on average freezes over by Nov. 20.

No one had ever seen open water previously at Christmastime on Lake Pokegama near Grand Rapids.


 














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"As of this morning we still have lots of open water'' on Christmas Eve, said Randy McCarty, who lives on the lake. The previous latest ice-in was Dec. 20, 2001.

Lake Bemidji officially froze over Dec. 19, just a day shy of its record set in 2001, said Pete Boulay of the Minnesota State Climatology Office.


Clear satellite photographs have been rare this month, one of the cloudiest Decembers on record, Boulay said. But a peek through the clouds on Dec. 19 showed at least some open water on Winnibigoshish, Leech, Lake of the Woods, Upper and Lower Red Lakes and Mille Lacs Lake. Most lakes in the Twin Cities also had some open water, as did some larger, deeper lakes in the Brainerd area, Boulay noted.

By Thursday, satellite photos showed that Lake of the Woods, the Red Lakes and Winnie appeared to be iced over.

"Ice-in dates are a lot harder to figure, especially if you can't see across the lake. Sometimes it comes in and then goes out. ... We just don't have as much good data statewide for ice-in dates as we do for ice-out in the spring,'' Boulay said. "But it's pretty clear that we have some of the latest, if not the latest dates for some lakes in Minnesota. We usually see most lakes ice over in November. We're a month later than that and still have a lot of open water."


Boulay is asking any Minnesotans with accurate records on lake ice-in dates to contact him at climate@umn.edu.

"I'd love to get good data for a lot more lakes. I'm sure some people have been keeping their own records,'' he said, noting most people seem to pay closer attention to spring ice-out dates.

Records with more than 20 consecutive years are especially sought after.

Many of the shallower lakes near Duluth froze over in November but never gained much ice, although anglers have been walking out on several area lakes. Chalstroms Bait Shop outside Duluth says anglers are reporting 4-7 inches of ice on some lakes, but ice conditions vary greatly. There's even some open water on Rice Lake near where a creek flows in.


Boulay said, statewide, November and December both will be among the top five warmest in recorded state history. So far in Duluth it has been the second-warmest December since records have been kept starting in 1870.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has been warning residents to stay off untested lakes until colder weather makes more ice. The DNR suggests at least 4 inches of solid, clear ice for people to walk; 5 inches for a snowmobile or ATV; 8-12 inches for a car or small pickup; and 12-15 inches for a larger pickup truck.

Northland lakes should see more ice after a cold snap this weekend. Low temperatures are expected to drop into the single digits Sunday with some below-zero readings Monday morning, including the possibility of Duluth's first below-zero temperature of the winter.

The cool snap won't last, though, with highs back above normal, well into the 20s, by Tuesday.

[greatoutdoors]

Shagawa Lake had frozen the night of November 29th/30th.  Parts of it re-opened later with the warm temps and rain.
Burntside Lake had locked in the west end around the 18th, but the area off the Van Vac Landing was wide open on December 24th.
On December 25th, the same area was totally covered in ice.
What a difference a 24 hour span made.


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[dakids]

Checked a couple west metro lakes.  2 to 3 inches at most.  Lots of snow on top and more on the way.  Not looking good..

[corny13]

Went out fishing sunday, North of devils lake,Nd.... found some Good ice..9-10"  got my limit of walleyes and a couple small hammer handles..  Its finally getting there a month late..

[glenn57]

10 inches on some of the small lakes up north is what I am hearing!!!!!!!

[Lee Borgersen]

    ... snowmobilers break through thin ice

Dec 28, 2015   







 

 









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GARRISON - Four people broke through the ice and a 30-year-old Brooklyn Park man spent about an hour in the cold waters of Partridge Lake Saturday near Garrison before emergency personnel rescued him.
 



 



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The Crow Wing County Sheriff's Office responded to a call of two people broken through the ice needing assistance at 5 p.m. Saturday on the lake in Bay Lake Township. The sheriff's office reported the ice was extremely thin. Those in need of rescue were Steven Truehart, 30, of Brooklyn Park, and Heather Gillen, 33, of Gilbert, Ariz. The two were among a group riding snowmobiles on the lake.

While emergency personnel were en route to the scene, Gillen was removed from the water by family members.


Crow Wing County sheriff's deputies, the Garrison Fire Department and a Cuyuna Regional Medical Center ambulance responded to the scene and found Truehart in the water about 100 yards from the eastern shore of the lake. Three firefighters, all wearing cold water rescue suits, were able to rescue Truehart by breaking a path in the ice and pulling him safely to shore.

Deputies learned that Truehart and Gillen were riding snowmobiles on the lake when Truehart's snowmobile broke through the ice. Gillen stopped the snowmobile she was riding near the west shoreline of the lake and attempted to assist Truehart, but Gillen broke through the ice prior to reaching Truehart.

A family member went looking for Gillen and Truehart and found both in the water. Family members were able to pull Gillen from the water, but could not get to Truehart.


While trying to get to Truehart, a family member on another snowmobile also broke through the ice. Both riders of that snowmobile, 57-year-old Juliane Bromley of Deerwood, and 60-year-old Peter Gillen of Maple Grove, were able to get out of the water and safely to shore.

Both Bromley and Truehart were transported by ambulance to CRMC and treated for cold exposure.

Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl reminded the public that ice conditions on area lakes are unpredictable, unsafe and even with recent colder temperatures, it remains very dangerous.


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[Retired on Osakis]

Today I was finding 6-7 inches of ice on Lake Osakis in the areas I traveled. Half way to being able to get the wheel house out.

[glenn57]

Just make sure you leave the camera at home.

[Retired on Osakis]

Only have a $28 sharper image cheap thing now. Won't be so bad if I drop that in the water. Never did get the high buck HD video camera working again after I fished it out. I guess they don't like sitting under water.

[glenn57]

had 8 1/2 inches of ice on our fishing trip over new years weekend. some water on top of the ice also.

[HD]

8 inches of ice in Macs twin bay of Mille Lacs. No truck travel out of the bay as of yet.

[Retired on Osakis]

Had 6 inches last Tuesday everywhere I went except one spot free of snow had 7 on Osakis. Those same 6 inch areas were up to 7 inches on Friday. Still holding a 7 inches today. With the 3-4 inches of snow on the ice it just hasn't been getting cold enough to make ice.

[glenn57]

Hey DDS your lake of no fish is iced over. No activity yet out there.

[corny13]

Hope this wasn't one of you guys.... 

[glenn57]

just a heads up about ice conditions. the union, boilermakers, are hosting its 3rd annual ice fishing contest for the wounded warriors guide service next sat the 6th. and completely different from the wounded warriors project your hearing on the news lately. the resort we go out of had one a few weeks ago had one and ice conditions aren't so good.

no vehicles are going to be allowed on the lake, we will be shuttling via ATV. they found as much as 12 inches and as little as 6 inches in spots. its being held on little elk lake by Zimmerman!!!!