slush or no slush lakes

[grumpymoe]

started to post this on our local forum but thought this would bring a better response. i have noticed that some lakes are more prone to slushing after heavy snowfall than others. i've seen 3 or more feet of snow and good dry solid ice. on other lakes in the same area, and with similar snow cover, they can have 2 or more feet of slush. has anyone noticed this??? grumpy

[Little Brown Dog]

I've seen this before.  What I noticed is once you drilled holes in the ice the water started coming up out of the holes.  So, maybe someone had fished the slushy spots already, or there was another source of open water, like a brook or something.  What do you think?  

[olds-Pa]

I believe it is due to holes being cut into the ice while there is heavy snow cover. No matter the reason. it can make for some uncomfortable fishing.

[Tip-Up]

Grump - Your right about some lakes and not others. Even in some spots on the same lake and not anywhere else even though the snow is a uniform depth across the lake.

I think the water needs a place to come through, be it a hole, crack, pressure break, etc. and if you got that you got slush.

[fishercat]

. it can make for some uncomfortable fishing.

first time I went out when it was like that I thought I was a gonner.

[acsacmboy]

drill hole+water come up the hole+water mixing with the snowcover=?? any one? anyone? slush. i cant stand the slush. it gets in your boots and hard to walk and hard to pull sled.

[FishME]

From what I've heard it's due to the weight of the snow sinking the ice, causing water to be forced through cracks............

[tinboat]

The slush happened to me last year - scared the be-jeebers out of me - went running back to shore - darn hole spouted 6" - 8", thought I was going in the drink! It was right after a 10" snowstorm, snow was light and dry. I ended up shoveling 'drainways' in the snow so I could get the water away from the holes; the wood tips were just about floating in the hole. Was a great day fishing; took over an hour to get 5 holes/tips in because the first couple holes I put in kept popping flags and snaggin fish. What a nuisance that was!

[TroutFishingBear]

here is a different guess- maybe there is an underground spring that comes up around that area???

[Muskie Matt]

Don't pee in the snow  

[backwoodswalker]

I believe this is caused from the weight of the snow causing ice to sink. As long as you have sufficient ice, don't worry about it too much . Here in the u.p where we get some heavy snows this happens quite often. Want to really get worried? 3 Years ago we were on lake Antoine at the festival and a dumb@!! pulled his pick-up about 5 feet from our shack and my pickup was on the other side. The water came up in shack FAST. Sunk probably 6 inches right away. Did not know I could still move that fast. Ice was only about 10 inches thick, When water started out the door the guy put his truck in gear and took off. After a few beers and a couple words we laughed about it. No harm done. Had to move shack though, it would have froze in solid. Have fun and good luck  

[Ottawa_fish]

I've noticed this problem is particularly bad for long  and narrow
lakes with inflow/outflow streams at the ends. Usually the slushy
area starts to grow from around the inflow and gradually takes
pretty much all the lake. Water is coming out mainly from the
cracks and the fishing holes hardly contribute (at least on the lakes
I fish). I've seen it even before snowfalls with ice already 8-10"
thick. By the early spring when the snow evaporates and the ice
floats higher the the slush is usually goes away.