Author Topic: 2020 Ice  (Read 14731 times)

Offline IlliniIce

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #30 on: Feb 01, 2020, 06:06 AM »
dr. fly .... there was a post today on lake link with info on lake summerset
looks like its fishable and some guys got busted bigtime for being over limits

Offline jbird68

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #31 on: Feb 03, 2020, 03:32 PM »
Fished the last two days at Morrison-Rockwood State Park. Caught some bluegill and a couple perch. Is was about 7 inches with the top 2 inches being crusty white. Got off the ice around 2:30pm on Sunday and there was lots of puddling going on. Sun and wind were keeping holes open. 
jbird68





Offline SmalliesnEyes

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #32 on: Feb 05, 2020, 09:20 AM »
Ice shouldn't get any worse.  It's actually only going to get better over the next week or so, at least in the Chicago metro area.  Nothing but 30 degree days with low 20's overnights through the weekend.  Hoping I can finally get on the ice at my club this weekend.   

Offline Iceman Cometh

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #33 on: Feb 05, 2020, 12:26 PM »
thanks for all the info fellas. My ice fishing may be over, unfortunately due to cancer, but it's great to come to the forum and see if there's a possibility for a trip. If the conditions are good and the wife isn't too scared to let me go that is, lol. Every year I've made the mistake of ending my season too early, thinking that the ice is unsafe or has completely melted away. I'm always shocked how "late" into the year guys are fishing here in central Illinois. I've only tried to fish maybe 2 weeks some years since there was no posts or replies here and the lakes i fish are almost an hour away and it seemed like wasted gas to go check the ice. I maybe selling all my ice gear this spring, if I do check here or the for sale section for a post.
"If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, Infinite." --- William Blake

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Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #34 on: Feb 09, 2020, 08:38 PM »
Fished today @ Little Swan from 2:30-4:30.  Had the whole lake to myself!  Caught 40, mostly small, kept roughly half.

4" of ice.
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #35 on: Feb 16, 2020, 08:40 PM »
Fished today @ the pond in Fulton county.
Fish were hungry.  Ice was getting sketchy.

4" ice. Top half was junk.
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline PoleJerker

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #36 on: Feb 17, 2020, 11:47 AM »
Fished today @ the pond in Fulton county.
Fish were hungry.  Ice was getting sketchy.

4" ice. Top half was junk.
Glad you made it out but everyone be safe

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #37 on: Feb 17, 2020, 08:53 PM »
Drilled some holes @ Argyle today. 

4"-5" of ice.
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #38 on: Feb 20, 2020, 01:27 AM »
Fished Lake Storey last night.  The fish were biting fairly steady.

4" of good ice.  Thin near some edges.
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #39 on: Feb 22, 2020, 08:55 AM »
Tried to fish our pond last night...only 2.5".  Fished a neighbor's, instead.

3.5-4".
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline crayphish

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #40 on: Feb 22, 2020, 09:21 PM »



got out on mazonia today. 6" of ice in most places. only one but made it count.

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #41 on: Feb 23, 2020, 04:32 PM »


got out on mazonia today. 6" of ice in most places. only one but made it count.
[/quote]

Nice catch!
Fisher of Fishermen

Offline PoleJerker

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #42 on: Feb 24, 2020, 11:47 AM »
Nice.  One is better than none.
 

Offline PoleJerker

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #43 on: Feb 29, 2020, 10:35 AM »
From weather forecast I think it"ll be soft water time soon.

Offline crayphish

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #44 on: Mar 02, 2020, 05:14 PM »
i live on a 12 acre lake, she is wide open and i plan to get my boat in this sunday.

Offline PoleJerker

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #45 on: Mar 03, 2020, 11:42 AM »
i live on a 12 acre lake, she is wide open and i plan to get my boat in this sunday.

Sounds like you'll have a good day for it on Sunday.

Offline DaWakoKid

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #46 on: Dec 02, 2020, 09:31 PM »
What's the bet on safe ice in Central IL this season? Hoping before New Years.

Offline zcm_82

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #47 on: Dec 03, 2020, 03:51 AM »
What's the bet on safe ice in Central IL this season? Hoping before New Years.

Those are pretty lofty hopes. I've spent basically my entire adult life in EC IL, and ice before January 15th or so is pretty rare. Last year, my local ponds only had 4 days of fishable ice all winter, and most of the bigger water never even froze over.

Offline SmalliesnEyes

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #48 on: Dec 04, 2020, 11:00 AM »
What's the bet on safe ice in Central IL this season? Hoping before New Years.

Odds are highly likely that the majority of the state, even northern IL, isn't on safe ice by New Year's.  Daytime temps here in the Chicago burbs aren't projected to be below freezing for at least the next two weeks.  First daytime below freezing is slated for the 17th, and it's only going to be 31 degrees.  With daytime temps sunny and in the 40's or upper 30's, it being 20 or 25 at night is moot.  Any ice built overnight will be melted by the time the sun goes down the next day.  I expect northern IL likely won't be on safe ice before the new year, with the exception of the river channels way up in the northern part of the state by the Chain.

Offline zcm_82

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #49 on: Dec 04, 2020, 12:22 PM »
Odds are highly likely that the majority of the state, even northern IL, isn't on safe ice by New Year's.  Daytime temps here in the Chicago burbs aren't projected to be below freezing for at least the next two weeks.  First daytime below freezing is slated for the 17th, and it's only going to be 31 degrees.  With daytime temps sunny and in the 40's or upper 30's, it being 20 or 25 at night is moot.  Any ice built overnight will be melted by the time the sun goes down the next day.  I expect northern IL likely won't be on safe ice before the new year, with the exception of the river channels way up in the northern part of the state by the Chain.

That sounds about right to me. I'm about 90 miles south of Chicago, and I can't recall a single time since I bought my place back in 2006 that we ever had fishable ice in December locally.

About the earliest I remember being able to get out was maybe January 5th-7th, one year a long time ago. I'm thinking that was clear back in 2007/2008.

It's usually more like the 15th-20th, and there have been a couple years where we never got any safe ice at all around here, even on little farm puddles.

Offline SmalliesnEyes

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #50 on: Dec 04, 2020, 02:01 PM »
That sounds about right to me. I'm about 90 miles south of Chicago, and I can't recall a single time since I bought my place back in 2006 that I we ever had fishable ice in December locally.

About the earliest I remember being able to get out was maybe January 5th-7th, one year a long time ago. I'm thinking that was clear back in 2007/2008.

It's usually more like the 15th-20th, and there have been a couple years where we never got any safe ice at all around here, even on little farm puddles.

Yeah.  I'm in the western burbs of Chicago, about 18 miles directly west of downtown.  I don't plan on being on safe ice right around me until early January.  Last year was the same.  A few years ago we had a cold snap early in November, and I remember I was on safe ice from like Thanksgiving all the way to March, but that's the exception, not the norm.  I can go an hour or hour and a half up north and hit the Fox Chain/River channels, but that's probably all that will be locked up and safe enough(for me) by January 1st.  I expect my local stuff will be around the 10th-15th of January before I feel comfortable. 

Offline zcm_82

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #51 on: Dec 04, 2020, 05:00 PM »
Unfortunately, I don't have the time or money to do much travel for fishing, so if we don't have local ice, I am SOL.

I grew up in northern MN, so the ice season down here is a bit of a dumpster fire compared to what I was used to before.  :'(

Offline Luckydog

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #52 on: Dec 23, 2020, 12:22 PM »
Right now I'm hoping to be fishing the first week in January.  After Monday the 28th there are not supposed to be any days over 40 for the following 9 days with night time lows in the 20s.

Offline zcm_82

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #53 on: Dec 23, 2020, 12:39 PM »
Right now I'm hoping to be fishing the first week in January.  After Monday the 28th there are not supposed to be any days over 40 for the following 9 days with night time lows in the 20s.
I'm thinking best case scenario for me is maybe the 1st or 2nd if the stars align perfectly, but somewhere between the 5th and 10th is a lot more likely.

Offline Arquero3d

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #54 on: Dec 28, 2020, 11:35 AM »
Checked ice on the home pond in western Illinois Saturday.  1.75".  It held me, but I'm wiser than I used to be...the desire to come home to my kids now outweighs my desire to catch fish!
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Offline zcm_82

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Re: 2020 Ice
« Reply #55 on: Dec 29, 2020, 08:11 AM »
Just checked a few local ponds. 2 were very soft, unsafe ice that topped out around 2" but the last one was good, clear ice. Varied in thickness a lot end to end,  but I found a good pocket of 3" over a shallow flat.




 



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