Cold Temps.

[E Z turn]

 17 deg this morning. Been cold last few days. Predict freezing temps this week. Small ponds have some skim ice.

[Splattypus]

Ice on the puddle in the driveway this morning. It's coming

[greenbulldog]

Weather man in Duluth says this winter is shaping up to be a poor one for ice conditions.  Warmer with more rainfall/sleet than normal.  I am happy to hear snowfall totals are projected to be well below average though.  We will see what happens, not like he hasn't been wrong before.

[Splattypus]

Yeah I got my fill of snow last year, but if it's gonna be cold it may as well be cold enough for some quality ice. We'll see what happens. Might have to do some driving out of the cities to find anything worth going out on.

[E Z turn]

Nov.5 Pike bay web cam shows bay froze over and snow covered. Nov.7 and 8 34 deg temps,wet snow and rain.

[Stickjiggler]

3 days in the 60s next week.
It's gonna be a while yet.

[E Z turn]

 34 this AM , cloudy and strong winds predicted. Looks temps as high as 5o.

[E Z turn]

 
11 deg. Here this morning. Predicting below freezing temps all next week. 12/09 /2022 First trip out last year 10 inches of ice.

[Splattypus]

I'm seeing a couple of warmer days next week, but still not much above freezing, and lows that are plenty cold. Ought to be starting soon. I'm not expecting that I'll be on the ice by Christmas, but maybe around new years on some of the smaller or more sheltered lakes.

🤞

[E Z turn]

  6 deg this morning. Below freezing temps predicted next week, but some wind. Satellite shows lots of ice on Upper Red.

[Splattypus]

Ice starting on Red? I'll go ahead an notify the coast guard now so they can get ready

[E Z turn]

 21 deg. this morning. Predicting cold temps this week. Wind will be a factor.

[TheCrappieFisherman]

Just skim ice around here on some protected waters. Luckily day time highs this time of year don't last for more and an hour or two, but still not good being above freezing.

On the plus side ice fishing has started up north. Guys are out finding crystal clear ice and able to see straight down into the lake up shallow.

[E Z turn]

 9 deg this morning but wind gusting to 23 mph.

[Splattypus]

Did a bunch of driving around the MSP metro area today:

Small and protected waters: skim of ice, open water anywhere there's current and/or springs.

Larger water: mostly open, starting to skim around sheltered edges.

Anything flowing: wide open

Sun angle is still high, and breezy conditions means ice will be slow to build and may even disappear. Forecast for the next week is highs in the mid 30s, lows in the upper 20s.

We're getting there, but slowly

[E Z turn]

 Below zero temps this morning. I have seen reports of - 4 to - 12 .

[Splattypus]

Took my lunch break on the shores of Minnetonka :

Backwater bays have a decent skim. Some larger pockets of open water, but an inch or 2 over most protected areas. Brisk winds and temps upper 30s, still strong sunshine.

Temps forecasted highs upper 30s, lows upper 20s for next week or so.

Not gonna build much ice, but hopefully won't be losing much.

[Splattypus]

Nothing new to report. Protected bays (even in the metro area) retainijg a good skim. Still pockets of open water. Forecast looks like holding steady, neither making or losing enough to count. We're in December now, so temp drop is bound to come soon, and then it won't take long to put on good ice. We're right on the cusp and just holding right kow

[TheCrappieFisherman]

The few that have been out on walkable ice in the metro had fun while it lasted. After wednesday/ Thursdays 50 degrees we will need a full rebuild of good ice.

[Splattypus]

Yeah I was seeing up to 4" in pockets from people online , that'll be gone by end of week. 2 days with lows above freezing is going to make whatever is left unsafe again.

Maybe by new years...

[thomasthepikehunter]

Yeah I was seeing up to 4" in pockets from people online , that'll be gone by end of week. 2 days with lows above freezing is going to make whatever is left unsafe again.

Maybe by new years...

Man, just get in and drive 50 miles out, and ice fishing is already started. I just checked with two people west of the metro, and both found fishable ice. It isn't going anywhere either, it will be there this weekend.

[Splattypus]

Just might have to. I'm chomping at the bit to get out.

If I'm gonna flirt with early ice, I need to pick myself up a float suit and a good spud bar first.

That may be what I do this weekend, then make a trip next weekend

[thomasthepikehunter]

Just might have to. I'm chomping at the bit to get out.

If I'm gonna flirt with early ice, I need to pick myself up a float suit and a good spud bar first.

That may be what I do this weekend, then make a trip next weekend

A spud bar is never a bad idea. Mine is just a chunk of steel I dug out of a scrap bin. I rely less on it that many people, and drill more holes than most if I'm the first out. I don't like chancing it, if I see 3 1/2" ice I'm turning around.  I'm not going to say a float suit is a bad idea, but they are way over rated. A regular old life jacket that you probably already have not only works, it probably works better than a float suit. The other thing you will absolutely want is a set of picks. The cheap Frabill ones work. A sharpened bolt through some wood dowel handles works really good too, just that it has a sharp point sticking out poking you.

Other than my normal gear, all I use for first ice is a steel rod/spud bar, life jacket, and ice picks. A lot of times I don't even bring the life jacket. I also tend to let the others who are willing to probe around on 2"-3" of ice go first.

[thomasthepikehunter]

I forgot to mention, if you are out on 4" or 5" of ice, it's just a matter of time before a 4 wheeler passes you by. Don't be too surprised by that. One time on pleasant lake in Annandale, MN I witnessed a full size truck drive out, hook up, then pull back a decent sized (probably small by todays standards) wheel house. I was on 8", MAYBE 9" of ice that day. Guy broke through right at the landing, but was able to make it out without help.

[Splattypus]

Lol some guys have more guts than sense.

Ive got spikes, and drill plenty of holes on my way out (and I'm seldom the first out) if I'm in doubt. But some extra precautions would still be wise. The yo-yo of temperatures early on right now are going to keep me extra diligent for a while

[thomasthepikehunter]

I just checked the Cambridge and St. Cloud weather reports. I really doubt it is going to change much based on my experience in the past. Even if it is a little melted Friday, it will be freezing all Saturday. By Sunday it will be at least as good as it was last weekend, maybe even better.

[_colorado]

I live in the Brainerd Lakes area. I saw one hut on Round Lake and one person on 371 Bay on North Long Lake yesterday. Most lakes around here still have some open water. It's a disappointing start to this ice fishing year so far.  I hope the bite waits.

[thomasthepikehunter]

I live in the Brainerd Lakes area. I saw one hut on Round Lake and one person on 371 Bay on North Long Lake yesterday. Most lakes around here still have some open water. It's a disappointing start to this ice fishing year so far.  I hope the bite waits.

There's so much variety around Brainerd, surely you can find good fishing. It's been about 10 years since I lived there, but I always had my best luck on the smaller lakes east of town early ice. The ones north of town are so interconnected, I don't trust moving water like that.

[Splattypus]

Lot of open water returning in the metro area. One more warm day, then temps drop and we're back to making ice

[thomasthepikehunter]

Lot of open water returning in the metro area. One more warm day, then temps drop and we're back to making ice

I may have been overly optimistic earlier in the week. We ended up getting 20 degrees warmer than forecast. We hit 62 I think Wednesday. I don't know how it was there, but things do not look great here. Now we have rain, followed by snow coming. Weather looks favorable for next weekend though.