My Son and I were at the South end last night we parked along the road (D Ave) in front of Franklin's Marina. This was our first venture to the South end, we have always fished the North, but there was rumors the ice up North was not safe? There were lot's of fishermen out there with us, the Smelt were there too, most of the fish came 8-12 feet down in 60 fow. Hali's with white spikes worked best for us, plenty of bites and some smelt in the bucket made for some good father son time. The bite seemed to be picking up about the time we left (around 11:00). There was plenty of ice where we were 8-10", and the Slush was no longer an issue.
Hope this helps.....Good luck to all.
-RB