White Ice

[arrowhead]

Since I'm anew ice fisherman... I'm stilling learning about safe ice, and not safe ice. So I went out after school for about a couple hours. The pond had white ice with clear ice in the  middle. But I noticed the ice thickness changed really rapidly. From 7 inches to 5 inches in 10 feet. And the mddle of the pond was no where safe, with only 2 inches of ice! Why is the ice like that, is it because its white?  And will the ice turn clear soon with these cold temps?  

    thanks     arrowhead

[goody]

Well, white ice is typically caused by the combination of ice formation with slush/snow.  When snow falls, it tends to over time combine with the surface layer of ice (which is always sweating and refreezing).  This is also true when surface ice has melted a touch and that skim of water refreezes with snow or other gunk in it.  White ice doesnt mean bad ice.  HOwever, it can mean that.  The thing I hate most about white ice is you cant always tell just how thick the ice is by judging depth of cracks in the ice.  With good solid clear ice you can do this pretty well most of the time.  Just keep checking it as you go if you feel it may be unsafe.

goody