Ice Melting?

[ItWasThiiiiisBig]

Hey everyone, I consider myself somewhat new to ice fishing, I've got a question. There was 8 inches of ice on one of my local bays yesterday afternoon. This morning it has been in the upper 30s, possibly getting into the low 40s. How long until the ice is unsafe? Thanks for any info

[adkRoy]

You should be ok today. How long is it suppose to stay warm? Is it sunny or rainy? Windy or calm? is there snow cover on the ice? All these factors affect ice melt.

[jwetovick]

Days.... Get out there and catch some fish. Ice will be plenty good. Take your spud if you really want to be safe.

[Reginald Bonz III]

Best way to know the ice thickness is to check the ice thickness where you want to fish.  It has to get into the 50's and 60's for you to really worry. You can have three inches near the shore line and 8 inches in the middle.  You never know until you check.

[FG Steve]

If the 8 inches was clear, it will last longer.  If it was white, it can disintegrate much more quickly.

[Mr.Seaguar]

Ice melting  on a lake is like defrosting a Turkey. If you put the Turkey in a fridge it starts to thaw but if you put it back in the freezer every night it will never thaw. Your nighttime temps make a huge difference. 8" will last awhile especially if it gets down around 20 every night. Good luck

[BlueDuck]

Depends a lot on if its still freezing at night or not.  Also snow cover on top of the ice can be a factor.  If the temps stay much above freezing for more then a few days use more caution. 

[RoeBoat]

As you can see from the responses it's nearly impossible to answer your question. There are way too many variables.  The only way to truely check ice condition is to be standing on it and hitting it with a spud that you know how to use.  Anything else is just guessing.

[RyanW]

This time of year I start to focus on wind speeds coupled with temps especially when ice is for sure on its way out. A windy 45 degree day can eat up white ice, especially along the shores and real shallow bays. You may be able to acces the lake at 8am but by 3pm the shore is shot. Been there, done that. A day or two’s worth of warm up depends mostly on wind, rain, and current ice conditions.

Not knowing you’re exact area and conditions, I can’t tell you anything that’s already been said.

I’m not new to ice fishing by no means but I’m still somewhat new to learning ice conditions. If I were you, I’d take my gear (enough to fish) along with a spud. Spud out the shore where you’re going to accessing the lake from to see how that access will be then once you’re on (even a few feet if water is deep enough) drill a hole to see the composition layers of the ice (white ice surface/slush/ black ice/gaps) then continuously spud AHEAD of you drilling another hole every 10-20 yards until you come to a conclusion about ice safety. ONLY YOU can determine what safe ice means for yourself. Even with bad ice on top, I like seeing at least 4” of solid ice on the bottom. White ice (frozen slush/aerated ice) needs twice the thickness of black ice to support the same weight.