I got out of work early this afternoon, so I took the opportunity to scout out the ice on Burnett's Pond in Savoy, which is one of the first bodies of water to ice up in the northern Berkshires.
(Just in case there was enough ice to fish, I brought along a bucket of tip ups, a jig and some nightcrawlers, in a spirit of hopeful optimism).
Although there is only an inch or two of snow in most of Adans and North Adams, there was the proverbial "6 to 8 inches in the higher elevations" up in Savoy, with some parts of the ground scoured bare and others knee deep in snow.
The Pond itself was totally iced over, and bare of snow. There were foot-sized "islands" of slightly thicker white ice speckled along the shore, and an unbroken expanse of black ice in the middle of the pond.
Unfortunately, my ice report is "Not Quite Yet"- - I'd say the ice is about an inch to an inch and a half thick in most spots.
I was able to advance about10 feet or so from shore (where the water is about knee to thigh deep) in a few spots, using my chisel (or "spud") to check the ice as I went. A single strike was all that it took to break through. Plus the ice cracked ominously pretty much every other step that i took.
With luck (fingers crossed), this cold-snap may last through the weekend - - I heard a weather forecast predicting more snow - - - so there might, just might be enough ice to fish on by Saturday!
