North Central MA Ice

[67f100]

Happy New year Gentleman.  I was wondering if some of you guys in the area could offer an opinion about whether the ponds near you will have safe ice by Saturday morning.  Was thinking maybe Comet or Long Pond.  Not quite as cold here in the Connecticut  Valley District  so i'm  staying off the local stuff for a while.  Any feedback would be great.  Thank You.  Stay safe out there.

[KillerFish]

We've got some cold weather coming. I was going to check some smaller ponds in that area. If i had to guess I would say that comet ponds boat launch area (shallower) would be good by then. Tough to say right now though. i'll give you an update after I do a little jigging and Clinton tonight, assuming I can get onto the ice

[67f100]

Thanks Killer

[KillerFish]

Edges shot. Lost a couple inches. But once I was able to get onto the ice I found 5-6".
Better than I thought.
I think the only real question is how bad the edges are and how quickly they recover.

[KillerFish]

The ice will be there, getting onto it will be the hard part.

[Jschumacher]

I was able to walk right on to a local pond on the way home. Edge was still fairly tight in some areas. tough in others. Had 4" of good ice.

[KillerFish]

Sweet, good to know.

[Jig4perch]

Paradise pond in Princeton has typically been a good indicator of safe ice for smaller bodies of water in North Central area.  As of today Paradise is in tough shape ... but typically refreezes quickly.  Based on the forecast and past experience ...Paradise should be good by Saturday morning.   

Comet is another story ... mostly open now and the forecast, albeit cold may not be cold enough to create a solid footing for the cove and boat ramp areas... and most likely not nearly cold enough to freeze the entire lake solid by Saturday.

Although I have ice fished North Central Mass  area for decades ... please do not assume I know anything about the nuance of ice patterns.  But I can say ...I plan to be ice fishing in Central Mass on Saturday.

Be safe 

[67f100]

Thanks you guys for the intel  have a great weekend on the ice

[Dschofield91]

Comet had a bunch of guys on Monday. I was on a nearby pond that had 8" of solid black ice and about 4" of snow