Wierd ice reports

[SLAPHAPPY]

Hey guys,, I live real close to slocum, and checked it yesterday with being solid 4 inches like mentioned in a previous post. I can't understand how the more northern lakes like belmont, long pond, prompton could that bad like people are thinking.. 4 days ago, belmont had around 10 inches and slocum had 6-7.. just can't see belmont area losing that much ice when slocum lost 2 inches max. Any one have any solid reports?

[butcher]

Slap,

Any experienced ice fisherman will tell you that the conditions from day to day, from lake to lake and even from hour to hour can change depending on a number of conditions.  Nuang pointed out that shoreline conditions are a key factor.  A lake that is prone to runoff is likely to have shoreline issues.  More importantly, any stream-fed lake is particularly susceptible to quickly-deteriorating ice conditions - especially after rain.  Day and nighttime temperatures. elevation, lake depth, snow accumulations, and black vs. white ice thickness all play a role in the ice conditions.  Bottom line - be very cautious - especially in the next few days.  We just got hammered with rain and record or near-record high temps coupled with nighttime temps above freezing.  The ice is not going to be very good for the next 3-5 days but the forcast for late next week should help a bit.

BE CAREFUL!!!

[SLAPHAPPY]

i know that butcher.. im not saying any lake is safe right now, im just itchin cause my new auger arrives today and this crap happens. lol thank you for the info though. i do appreciate it... was thinking of going to promice land tomorrow, but unsure

[bobama]

be very careful at Slocum I grew up there as a kid with the streams that run into it on both the boat rental side and even the campground side the ice gets chewed up in the middle 

[SLAPHAPPY]

Yeah i hear that.. i think im gonna atleast go check it before dark if my auger gets here anytime soon.. if its good ( minus the 1 foot of shore) then we should be good to go with these cold temps coming

[JiggerMan]

Slap,

The lake I fish  in pike county lost over 4 inches.  A lake just over the ridge lost about an inch....  who knows.  I know the one has been fished the other not.  The one has more exposure to southern sun and the other is more hid.  The one lake had so so shores and the other looked great....  the bad thing is the lake with better conditions does not have near the fish quality as the other. 

Another lake we were about a week from fishing is now 1/3 open water and the rest that is ice is all honeycomb ed black and white ice.  The black ice was actually crumbling under the auger.

[wiredstone]

Ice is different on every lake. Springs , gas holes , run off water  and so on. Check with a spud this weekend for sure. Belmont is still good but others lost there shoreline. They should be all good next week. Just hope the cold weather comes back. Be safe :tipup:I am only talking about northern lakes. Up by belmont.

[Kov619]

Ice is different on every lake. Springs , gas holes , run off water  and so on. Check with a spud this weekend for sure. Belmont is still good but others lost there shoreline. They should be all good next week. Just hope the cold weather comes back. Be safe

You can not make that statement ALL LAKES WILL BE GOOD NEXT WEEK?.?.         All lakes freeze different ....have to. Be safe on all lakes this winter....

[CraigHarris13]

Glad to hear Slocum is still thick enough. Any other reports on NEPA public lakes? I was thinking of trying to get on one on monday?

[sidecar]

I have gone out in the morning seemed to be good ice on the shoreline, half day leave and the ice to shore is twenty feet away we got wet.

[4seasonfishrman]

Every lake is different.   How much water flows into the lake,  depth of lake, how much sunlight the lake gets, ect.  We haven't had consistent cold this winter,  I wouldn't trust any of the ice reports this year.  Go out and see for yourself.

[J Miser]

Here's something to think about............

The rivers are still safe in spots.   Yes, the rivers.

We hit a River on Saturday, found 6 inches of ice solid to shore, and caught some nice walleye.  How many of you would ever believe that.

Other sites had posted "DO NOT HIT THE RIVERS THIS WEEKEND AS THEY WILL NOT BE SAFE"  Good way to keep people away I guess, it certainly worked where we were.

Dr. JM

[Chris338378]

Nuangolasusquehanna is right on the money with that advice.  Going through on a lake is one thing it's a whole different thing going through on a river.  Another thing to consider is the ice breaking loose and ending up floating down the river on an iceberg. 

[SLAPHAPPY]

Glad to hear Slocum is still thick enough. Any other reports on NEPA public lakes? I was thinking of trying to get on one on monday?

most of the lakes north and east of scranton are good. and will get better daily now with the colder temps.. i have only heard 3 lakes that are bad, white oak and longpond was said to be in very bad shape ( dangerous bad) and prompton people are fishing but shore is bad, i know of 1 guy that broke through on prompton, good thing it was by shore and only up to his knees.. so i have stayed away from those 3. all the others i have fished with anywhere from 5-8 inches of solid ice, but still caution around shorelines.. but that is me,, still use caution when going out and spud and test often, because you just never know right now.. hope that helped

[Ski Hunter]

Here's something to think about............

The rivers are still safe in spots.   Yes, the rivers.

We hit a River on Saturday, found 6 inches of ice solid to shore, and caught some nice walleye.  How many of you would ever believe that.

Other sites had posted "DO NOT HIT THE RIVERS THIS WEEKEND AS THEY WILL NOT BE SAFE"  Good way to keep people away I guess, it certainly worked where we were.

Dr. JM

I believe they actually said there was no safe ice anywhere in PA and stay home     Yes, I found good ice on the river, but I drove 175+ miles to find it and was amazed it held up when all the other spots that usually hold ice hadn't. Plus the downstream side of that eddy had plenty of "landmines" so I couldn't go try over the weedbeds I've done well over in the past

Every lake is different.   How much water flows into the lake,  depth of lake, how much sunlight the lake gets, ect.  We haven't had consistent cold this winter,  I wouldn't trust any of the ice reports this year.  Go out and see for yourself.

I've been preaching for years not to rely on posts on internet forums about the conditions of ice and always get torn to shreds about it    Conditions can change quickly, especially with the screwed up winter we've had thus far yet everyone stills wants to just rely on someone else scouting for them 

[lastchance54]

All lakes freeze differently; I'm glad this warning was posted. The depth of a body of water, the topography, contour of the land, etc. all play a part.

[iceman2719]

Well I do agree that all lakes freeze differently! & that this winter has sucked for ice conditions. But I kinda thought that was the hole point of this web site/blog? To post & report ice conditions & fish reports? Some of us on here travel an hour or more to some of these bodies of water. So driving an hour prior to fishing really isn't practical . I have no problem checking and posting an honest , rational ice report for others to make their own educated decision of weather or not ice is "safe" enough for them to fish on. Which I've dun several times. Just be safe & use ur head!

[wiredstone]

Well I do agree that all lakes freeze differently! & that this winter has sucked for ice conditions. But I kinda thought that was the hole point of this web site/blog? To post & report ice conditions & fish reports? Some of us on here travel an hour or more to some of these bodies of water. So driving an hour prior to fishing really isn't practical . I have no problem checking and posting an honest , rational ice report for others to make their own educated decision of weather or not ice is "safe" enough for them to fish on. Which I've dun several times. Just be safe & use ur head!

[joefish]

Maybe you guys should read this    http://lakeice.squarespace.com

[primepin65]

Well I do agree that all lakes freeze differently! & that this winter has sucked for ice conditions. But I kinda thought that was the hole point of this web site/blog? To post & report ice conditions & fish reports? Some of us on here travel an hour or more to some of these bodies of water. So driving an hour prior to fishing really isn't practical . I have no problem checking and posting an honest , rational ice report for others to make their own educated decision of weather or not ice is "safe" enough for them to fish on. Which I've dun several times. Just be safe & use ur head!

The issue is that people post unsafe things on this site and others, and people assume that the person posting knows what they are talking about. I know that I have personal rules regarding ice thickness that others might not.  Remember that what one person finds as safe might only be safe for them (125lb man vs 250lb man). Someone posted above that "all lakes should be good by this weekend". On this site, that's an extremely dangerous thing to post. I would rather make a report that a lake is unsafe and see someone go there and test it themsleves, than report that it is safe and people trust my word and break through/die. The cost is some fuel the first way. Much greater cost the second way.

[wiredstone]

Let me correct my words. I meant all lakes up by Belmont. I also said be safe. I am 285lb and go on ice most of you guys would not go. I also wear a Striker suit and pics. I carry a long rope for those who follow me.

[hard water jim]

Being a rookie to ice fishing at 60 years old I learned on Monday how quick fair/good ice can change to questionable or bad. We went on the water about 7:00 AM and the ice at 4 1/2" seemed good. When the sun peeked out at 10:00 the ice started talking. A 1/2 hour later the ice was cracking under us with every step we took. Pulled tip ups and got off the ice. Had the guy that was with me walk the shore and I pulled out sleds spread out back to the launch. Enough fishing for me until the ice gets harder.

[EssoxHunter]

Yep...big differences between lakes, compare Glendale, Arthur, Pymatuming...Glendale is southern most, best ice. Arthur, halfway north, decent to good ice. Pymatuming northern most lake of the three, most is open and unsafe...don't go north for better ice this season

[nightfisher]

  Number 1 piece of saftey equipment is a Spud. Get one and learn how to use it. A good whack every step assures you of whats infront of you.
Scares the crap out of me when I see guys just blindly walking out or worse yet the guys that use an auger every 20 feet to check the ice. I've seen guys
drill a hole or two, walk 20 feet, drill another hole and think it's safe only to take 3 steps forward and go thru.