4 to 5 inches snow ice

[44blackfooted]

just wanna get opinions got 4 to 5 inches of snow ice safe enuff or what ?

[lowaccord66]

My rule of thumb for ice like that is I want a cloudy day and below freezing.  This time of year the sun changes the ice condition rapidly. 

[44blackfooted]

yeah u get ancy u know !!

[Spoondangler]

thats what i found today out there when checking ice for tomorrow.  If Im gonna fish that i won't be moving around much.  I am opting for heading north.

[fishermantim]

If there isn't ANY black ice beneath it, I'd stay off.
If you decide to try, make sure to wear a PFD and let people know where you are going, so when they see you on the evening news they can claim that "I know that guy!"....

I also agree with the "cloudy day" scenario as well, as I've been on ponds that had a frozen snow layer (on top of black ice) and you could "see" the top layer melting as the day wore on. Actually, you could hear it as well, as the residual air pockets would "bubble and pop" as they melted.

Then there's the residual puddle that will develop as more and more snow melts on the surface.

Just be safe and don't push your luck!

[Jschumacher]

I walked out on a pond up the street from my house Saturday to check it. I found 4" of snow ice. It held me but 2 hits with the chisel and right through. No thanks. Still plenty of ice up North where I've been going though

[A. Moss Bunker]

I found similar conditions this past Saturday at A1 in Westborough; 4-5 inches of white / snow ice.  Even though it felt solid and I was comfortable walking around, I decided not to fish.  The white ice has half (or less) the strength of black ice, and it doesn't take much sunshine to make the top couple of inches deteriorate.  I was very tempted to fish but better to be safe than sorry. 
Conversely Chauncy Lake had open water so I decided I would return to try some shore fishing on Sunday.  When I arrived Chauncy was skimmed over! 

[KivverRivver]

I'm with you A.Moss Bunker on the strenght of snow ice and on small ponds and swamp it could be less