want to be safe in central IL

[spcsports]

Went by the lakes at Jim Edger St Park Friday. I didn't drill holes but ice was clear and looked @ 2" thick. I would like to see at least 3" to be safe. Any words of advice from you guys with more experience?

[ilarcher]

2" is no where safe in my book.  Even at 3" you better have safety equipment(i perfer 4"). We spent friday and saturday fishin here in mclean county. We had anywhere from 3 to 4" and we still had a 50m climbing rope run from shore out to us. We only went about 30 yards off shore and the rope was always within arms reach of every one at all times.

Now I will say the ice might be safe at one part of the lake it might be safe at all parts. I saw people fishing on parts of the lake that  we thought were not safe and fishing alone. Early ice is never the time to be fishing alone!

I would rather carry more safety equipment than I need or carry safety equipment and not need it.

Snow on top of ice is something to be VERY carful of, it puts extra weight on top and it insulates.  If water comes threw a hole after drilling then the ice is sagging and better move away.

Just be careful. Better safe than sorry. 

[blufloyd]

I'd say north of I 80 this year. Mostly cause that is where I plan on doing all my ice fishing at this point.
Heavy rain in forecast won't do Bloomington area ice any good.

[wilbur]

IlArcher you wereny at evergreen where you? I wouldnt think they had that much ice there.

[harpenter]

We didn't go out until it was 4".  We waited this long for the season to start, what's another few days.

[ilarcher]

Wilbur, no I wasn't. There is no safe ice at evergreen from what I was told. We were at Dawson. Fishing was really slow but I did pull a 15" walleye out on friday. Fished from sun up to sun down on saturday and only caught 2 little sun fish, but it was great just to get out.

[spcsports]

Well its getting too warm to make ice again so I won't have to worry about it.wish it would stay in the teens and twenty's for a week.

[tbirdbassr]

I was out on 3" last Thursday. It was clear black ice no air no problems. Drilledout to over abou 12' and thickness didn't change. Then we never even fished that pond last weekend. LOL

[VanderLaan]

I live about ten miles from Site M, so I feel your pain.  The pond in my backyard keeps going from 2" of black ice, to ice with 2" of water on it, to ice with areas of open water.  My neighbor called Sunday and said that he was catching gills on his pond.  He said that he had 3" of ice.  By noon it was close to 50* and both of our ponds were covered with water.  Not gonna' catch me out on ice like that ever.  I think you are smart to wait for 4" of solid ice.  No gill or speck is worth drowning over. 

This weather is killing me.  My only consolation is that by spring time, the gills in the pond will be bigger and there will be more of them.  This weather keeps up and I am gonna' start looking for crickets.