refreeze

[bassman417]

 ok im somewhat new to ice fishing. I did a bunch when I was younger but didnt really know what I was doing. Anyways, we had a range of 2 to 5 inches of ice last thursday. But with the warm temps most melted quite a bit. The temps are now 20ish with wind chill below 0. This should refreeze fairly quickly, but just how safe is refreeze ice. Its not really slush on the ice just water, but I just wanted you guys oppinions on safety.

[djkruszewski]

it really depends on how much slush has been refrozen.  my lake, for example had no slush do to the warm temps and rain.  with rain water on top of the ice, most of the water will actually seep back down into the remaining ice, and refreeze will be quick and harmless.  but if your body of water had a lot of slush and then refroze, it may be not as safe as a lake with no slush.  either way most lakes that were safe last week should be fine by middle of this week.  of course always check ice before going out!

[mrlongbeard1]

 Zero degrees should lock it up in a couple of days easy if your talking Fahrenheit.

[bassman417]

they keep changing the forecast about every half hour or so they say Itll be cold, then they say warming up.
     Mon
Dec 24  Flurries
 30°/22° 
       Tue
Dec 25  Partly Cloudy
 40°/29°   
       Wed
Dec 26  Rain / Snow Showers
 33°/29°   
      Thu
Dec 27  Mostly Cloudy
 33°/33° 
        Fri
Dec 28  Rain / Snow Showers
 43°/26°   
       Sat
Dec 29  Cloudy
 38°/27°
        Sun
Dec 30  Mostly Cloudy
 30°/22°   
   


 

[Left Handed Model]

Ice Quality is really the issue....  Blue Ice is the strongest.. drill test holes and look at the coloration..  3-4 inches of blue ice, you are usually good for you and your gear...  more before you bring the motorized stuff...  stay away from honeycombed and sinking ice... white ice is not as strong and without a base of blue ice...  I usually stay off..  it is more porious and more apt to crack under pressure.

[Pasquatch]

True refrozen ice has 75% of the strength of hard black ice. Therefore, it'll need atleast an additional inch to be safe than if it were first ice.

[1MOFISH]

Ice Quality is really the issue....  Blue Ice is the strongest.. drill test holes and look at the coloration..  3-4 inches of blue ice, you are usually good for you and your gear...  more before you bring the motorized stuff...  stay away from honeycombed and sinking ice... white ice is not as strong and without a base of blue ice...  I usually stay off..  it is more porious and more apt to crack under pressure.

it also depends how warm it gets during the day it can be rock hard when you go out and be like jello on the way in    mo

[Lobes]

In Michigan the refreeze will make better ice because we weren't warmed up for that long (at least in the majority of the LP). Could be an issue in the south-west quarter of the state where there was much more rain. For the most part though we're seeing a lot of snowmobiles and ATV's on the ice taking advantage of unusually good early December ice.
Still be wary of thin ice on lakes with a lot of current though (like Lincoln Lake in northern Kent county). Some these may not have good ice throughout the winter.

                                                     
NBG

[pike4some]

Make sure yoy go by the actual temp. Not the wind chill