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Fished today @ the pond in Fulton county.Fish were hungry. Ice was getting sketchy.4" ice. Top half was junk.
i live on a 12 acre lake, she is wide open and i plan to get my boat in this sunday.
What's the bet on safe ice in Central IL this season? Hoping before New Years.
Odds are highly likely that the majority of the state, even northern IL, isn't on safe ice by New Year's. Daytime temps here in the Chicago burbs aren't projected to be below freezing for at least the next two weeks. First daytime below freezing is slated for the 17th, and it's only going to be 31 degrees. With daytime temps sunny and in the 40's or upper 30's, it being 20 or 25 at night is moot. Any ice built overnight will be melted by the time the sun goes down the next day. I expect northern IL likely won't be on safe ice before the new year, with the exception of the river channels way up in the northern part of the state by the Chain.
That sounds about right to me. I'm about 90 miles south of Chicago, and I can't recall a single time since I bought my place back in 2006 that I we ever had fishable ice in December locally. About the earliest I remember being able to get out was maybe January 5th-7th, one year a long time ago. I'm thinking that was clear back in 2007/2008. It's usually more like the 15th-20th, and there have been a couple years where we never got any safe ice at all around here, even on little farm puddles.
Right now I'm hoping to be fishing the first week in January. After Monday the 28th there are not supposed to be any days over 40 for the following 9 days with night time lows in the 20s.