Author Topic: Central Illinois Ice conditions (Read 9722 times)

iceguy22 · « **Reply #30 on:** Jan 20, 2015, 12:09 PM »

Going to a small pond in town tonight. Hope I don't get wet. Might need to put my ice picks to the test

VanderLaan · « **Reply #31 on:** Jan 20, 2015, 12:59 PM »

Quote from: iceguy22 on Jan 20, 2015, 12:09 PM

Going to a small pond in town tonight. Hope I don't get wet. Might need to put my ice picks to the test

Good luck and be careful. The pond in the backyard had 5" on it yesterday and we had freezing temps last night.

IlliniIce · « **Reply #32 on:** Jan 23, 2015, 06:39 AM »

i checked a couple ponds yesterday and the ice was just too sketchy for me
both places had about 2 inches of soft frozen slush on top of about 2-3 inches of good ice
didnt take long for the auger to go through so i backed out. think it will be awhile until its good enough for me, unless i head north

Crappie Day11 · « **Reply #33 on:** Feb 03, 2015, 09:41 AM »

Has Anyone been out since the nasty weather?.. thanks

fatfenders · « **Reply #34 on:** Feb 03, 2015, 11:44 AM »

Been wondering the same thing. Tried taking my boys to pond by their house Saturday morning but there was a couple feet of open water at the edge. Drilled a couple holes through 2-3" of ice and tried fishing off the dock but gave up after ten minutes. Drove past a lake by my house which was still completely frozen and had about fifteen kids playing hockey on it. Yikes!

Hoping this cold snap makes things safe again. Planning on fishing a tourney Saturday in Canton with my brother at Giant Goose Lake.

Kevin

CatfishCrazy · « **Reply #35 on:** Feb 03, 2015, 12:27 PM »

Quote from: fatfenders on Feb 03, 2015, 11:44 AM

Been wondering the same thing. Tried taking my boys to pond by their house Saturday morning but there was a couple feet of open water at the edge. Drilled a couple holes through 2-3" of ice and tried fishing off the dock but gave up after ten minutes. Drove past a lake by my house which was still completely frozen and had about fifteen kids playing hockey on it. Yikes!

Hoping this cold snap makes things safe again. Planning on fishing a tourney Saturday in Canton with my brother at Giant Goose Lake.

Kevin

I was planning on going down with my wife and son, so I dropped an email to Nate to see how the ice was looking. Apparently it isn't looking good. I'm starting to wonder if I'm going to be able to take my son out for his first time catching fish through the ice.

hardwatercrazy · « **Reply #36 on:** Feb 03, 2015, 01:14 PM »

Quote from: fatfenders on Feb 03, 2015, 11:44 AM

Planning on fishing a tourney Saturday in Canton with my brother at Giant Goose Lake.

Kevin

Bummer! I was gonna fish the same tourney with the kids and a couple buddies.

VanderLaan · « **Reply #37 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 08:38 AM »

Lows are supposed to be in the single digits tonight. Hopefully, that will firm up the ice for one last go at it. The long-range forecast for central IL is not looking too promising. If this keeps up, I may have to start planning my garden...

nova · « **Reply #38 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 10:17 AM »

All this snow it'll keep any ice from forming, I think its over!

Crappie Day11 · « **Reply #39 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 12:16 PM »

Just checked a lake that thawed pretty good and had 2 in of ice bout 5 foot of bank and 20 foot had bout 4.5 in. I'm thinking this weekend im going to hit it hard

VanderLaan · « **Reply #40 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 02:39 PM »

Quote from: nova on Feb 04, 2015, 10:17 AM

All this snow it'll keep any ice from forming, I think its over!

Fortunately, there is no snow on the ponds around here. Hopefully, we will not get too much snow tonight.

ratsotail · « **Reply #41 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 04:00 PM »

Crappie Day 11,

Was that lake in your Fulton County area or another direction of the compass? The reason I ask is I'm planning a trip north and trying to determine ice conditions and how far I'll have to travel next weekend (after some decent temps). I'm relying on the local eyes on the ground so your input in central IL is valued and appreciated

!

tight lines,

Jeff

iceguy22 · « **Reply #42 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 05:55 PM »

Went to a private pond last night and had 4 in. Hoping this snow blows off the water. Making a trip this weekend. Might be the last of the year

Crappie Day11 · « **Reply #43 on:** Feb 04, 2015, 07:52 PM »

Yes ratsotail it was near the schuyler county line..

ratsotail · « **Reply #44 on:** Feb 05, 2015, 08:40 AM »

Thank you for the confirmation!

tight lines,

Jeff

COPPERDOG · « **Reply #45 on:** Feb 05, 2015, 09:48 AM »

Does anyone have ice thickness reports in the east central Illinois area? (Champaign, Mahomet area)

iceguy22 · « **Reply #46 on:** Feb 05, 2015, 10:35 AM »

Copper I went to a pond a couple days ago in champaign and it was 4 in of good ice 15 ft out. Middle looked sketchy. Probably better now

VanderLaan · « **Reply #47 on:** Feb 06, 2015, 10:05 AM »

Pond out back has 4" of ice. The bottom 3" were solid and clear. Top 1" was white as the snow.

spcsports · « **Reply #48 on:** Feb 07, 2015, 09:01 PM »

I haven't been out for awhile but after today's 50 degrees and sunshine I'd say our ice @ Springfield isn't worth risking. Man that was a short hard water season. Last year spoiled me for sure.

VanderLaan · « **Reply #49 on:** Feb 07, 2015, 10:01 PM »

Spent a few hours on the ice this morning. Caught about 25 gills. Cleaned a dozen for the neighbors. Ice is going fast.

spcsports · « **Reply #50 on:** Feb 23, 2015, 11:03 AM »

Sunday went to a pond by Jacksonville. It had completely thawed but it had 4 inches of good ice. We caught 18 gills, 6 crappie, and a bass in 2 1/2 hours Sunday morning. Wind was a lil chilly.

VanderLaan · « **Reply #51 on:** Feb 24, 2015, 08:47 AM »

Fished the last hour of daylight last night. Despite the five degree temp and the windchill, I managed to catch about 25 gills and one nice cat. Kept a dozen nice 8" gills. Released the big ones and the cat for another day. Worst part was that after I would unhook a fish, my finger would freeze to the reel bail. The upside to the recent sub-zero temps is that all of the snow and slush that was on top of the ice is now frozen solid. Went from three inches to almost six in a week.

Hsiftac · « **Reply #52 on:** Feb 25, 2015, 08:46 AM »

Fished a couple ponds February 24. Both had 9+ inches in peoria county. First few inches of ice was white solid slush, remaining 6 or so inches was all solid clear ice. Bite was non existent on the first deeper reservoir lake. Ended up with 7 decent gills on the second smaller pond. Looks like there will be a few more weeks of ice fishing, hoping to get out to snake den a couple times!

ratsotail · « **Reply #53 on:** Feb 25, 2015, 11:39 AM »

Thanks for the fishing and ice conditions report for the Peoria area! I am planning a trip near the Vandalia area for this weekend to give you an idea how far southt he ice gods are blowing. Looks like we've been given a 2nd ice season this year

!

When I was at Dawson Lake two weekends ago I left it with 12-13" of ice and building

! The fishing was not anything to brag about, but still fun to get out and meet a couple board members.

tight lines,

Jeff

spcsports · « **Reply #54 on:** Feb 28, 2015, 08:04 PM »

Thought I would try Prairie Lake this afternoon. Started @ 3pm and fished by the walking trail bridges. Fishing was pretty slow with very few bites and caught the same 5" bass 2x. I have just about given up on JESP. Just haven't done very well on either lake there.

VanderLaan · « **Reply #55 on:** Mar 01, 2015, 07:37 PM »

Have you tried any of the smaller ponds? Drake and Geiss have nice 'gills. Gridley has crappie, 'gills and trout. You can also try Hermann and Gurney.

spcsports · « **Reply #56 on:** Mar 03, 2015, 10:50 AM »

Yea I've fished all 3 lakes and couple ponds. I haven't caught much and what I've seen other guys catch wasn't very big. Most gills are barely big enough to clean. Just not hardly worth 45 min drive out there. I love the park and lakes but fish quality is poor in my opinion.

IlliniIce · « **Reply #57 on:** Mar 06, 2015, 06:33 AM »

so ... 50s in the forecast thru next weekend ...
after going today and tomorrow, that might be it for me

ratsotail · « **Reply #58 on:** Mar 06, 2015, 01:56 PM »

Tomorrow will be my last day as well. The season was not as long as last year, but at least it offered some opportunity to get out safely in central/southern IL. Crazy up and down weather this year!

tight lines,

Jeff

jt icewalker · « **Reply #59 on:** Mar 06, 2015, 04:15 PM »

iam new to this site but a life long ice fishing guy.me and some friends are going out tomorrow for what might be the last time of the season.we are going to try a pound we have had good success on in the past a few miles south of springfield.thinking of heading to JIM EDGAR or another pond close to Virginia if the first spot doesn't produce.Has anyone had any luck at panther creek or heard of any good reports?

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Author Topic: Central Illinois Ice conditions (Read 9722 times)