Most of the deep lakes in the Bemidji area froze over last weekend, but unseasonably warm temperatures continue. Ice conditions vary greatly between lakes, depending on how long each lake has been frozen.
Most large lakes freeze in sections, with shallow bays freezing sooner than the deep bays or other deeper sections of the lake.
Leech Lake is a perfect example of this, with the shallow bays like Boy Bay, Steamboat Bay, Sucker Bay and Portage Bay freezing much faster than the deep bays like Walker Bay, Kabekona Bay and Agency Bay.
Lakes like Bemidji can also freeze in sections, even though the lake is not separated into bays. The southeast portion of Lake Bemidji freezes first, and a few deep holes along the west shore are the last parts of the lake to freeze.
Lake Irving is connected to Lake Bemidji, but it is much shallower and acts much like a separate bay. Lake Irving freezes at least one week sooner than Lake Bemidji and is one of the first lakes ready for ice fishing each year, while Lake Bemidji is one of the last.
The quality of the ice is important when it comes to how much ice is needed for ice fishing. White cloudy ice that is choppy and bumpy is much weaker than ice that is smooth and clear. The ice conditions for much of the winter can be determined by how the ice forms early in the season.
With the lakes freezing at different times, some lakes like Upper Red Lake froze choppy along the shoreline; while other lakes froze so smooth they look like glass.
The ice has to stay ahead of the snowfall as it forms. If too much snow falls on the ice before the ice is strong enough to hold the weight, there could be slush problems most of the winter.
Most lakes closer to Bemidji only got a couple inches of snow this past week, but there are other lakes in the greater Bemidji area that got four or more inches of new snow. It is unclear at this point if some lakes got more snow than their ice can hold.
Anglers have started ice fishing on a few of the shallow lakes, including Upper Red Lake, which has been opened up for foot traffic out of some of the resorts.
The walleye limit changed on Upper Red Lake on Dec. 1. The new limit is three walleyes, with two walleyes under 17 inches and one walleye over 17 inches allowed in a limit of fish.
There are very few lakes in the Bemidji area that have more than five inches of ice. Most lakes have three inches of ice or less, which is not enough to support anglers.
Anglers should not be so anxious to get on the lakes before the ice is thick enough. There will be plenty of time for ice fishing this winter, even if the combined effects of global warming and El Nino make this a mild winter.
The lakes are slowly making ice, despite the unseasonably warm temperatures. There is a net gain in ice thickness as long as the temperatures are below freezing for longer than they are above freezing during a 24-hour period.
Unfortunately for those who want ice more quickly, the extended forecast is predicting temperatures in the upper 30s and low 40s next week, with no colder temperatures on the immediate horizon.
Some anglers will still go out on the lakes even if there is little margin for error when it comes to ice thickness. Anglers can add a degree of safety by wearing a life jacket with a set of ice picks around their neck, so the picks are right where they need to be in an emergency.
A set of Ice picks only cost about $5, but they are such an important safety item for ice fishing that some winter clothing manufacturers put a set of ice picks right into the collar of their jackets.
Everyone who ice fishes should have a set of ice picks and wear them whenever they are on the ice.
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Topic: Ice Conditions 2015 (Read 15548 times)
