encouraging

[coopason]

Forecast looking better after the 1st
Hope we can be walking on water
Surprised no one is giddy

And no I'm not a jinx...

Coop

[zcm_82]

The way they keep trending the forecasts up at the last minute, I'm not holding my breath yet. A few weeks ago they were forecasting single digits after Xmas around here... today will be our first day with a high below 50 since Thursday.

[bigr]

Forecast changes quickly. I don't trust to much past three or four days  but from what I see on accu weather it doesn't look good for the next ten days. There is no single digit lows anywhere in the next 14 days. We'll need atleast more than a few days of below freezing temps for solid ice. And with that no snow on top. I'm  thinking it will be a very short season again. I hope not. Seems like last year didn't get started until second half of Jan and ran until mid Feb but the polar vortex help that. The forecasters aren't seeing that happening so far this winter. They saw it coming  forming a couple weeks before it arrived here.

[Michigan Slim]

It's killing me reading the other states out on the ice already.

[zcm_82]

It's killing me reading the other states out on the ice already.

x2... and our weather just keeps on rumbling along like it's October. 

Forecast changes quickly. I don't trust to much past three or four days  but from what I see on accu weather it doesn't look good for the next ten days. There is no single digit lows anywhere in the next 14 days. We'll need atleast more than a few days of below freezing temps for solid ice. And with that no snow on top. I'm  thinking it will be a very short season again. I hope not. Seems like last year didn't get started until second half of Jan and ran until mid Feb but the polar vortex help that. The forecasters aren't seeing that happening so far this winter. They saw it coming  forming a couple weeks before it arrived here.

Agreed, unless we get a big arctic blast, this year seems to be setting up for a short run.

We had about a week of ice right after Xmas last year here, then it melted off and was pretty spotty through the end of January, then we were solid from then all the way through the 3rd week of Feb, when it burned off fast.

I was fishing on 11" of ice on a small pond Feb 21st, and it was open water before the end of the month. 😐

[Michigan Slim]

I took a job in Syracuse that gives me a lot of freedom. Hoping to explore around here some. I got forced out of my 30 year spot by a bunch of guys wearing beards and barn coats last year so we'll see.

[Den58]

If this weather stays this way might start taking the boat out got to do something

[zcm_82]

It can't decide if it wants to rain or snow here today, keeps going back and forth with some sleet thrown in for good measure.

[Michigan Slim]

Raining good in Syracuse. Ice mixed in.

[fishinator]

Night crawlers were out yesterday.  It's not looking good but you never know. I have 2 trips planned for out of state so I'm going eventually.

[wax_worm]

I took a job in Syracuse that gives me a lot of freedom. Hoping to explore around here some. I got forced out of my 30 year spot by a bunch of guys wearing beards and barn coats last year so we'll see.

You won't escape the bearded army around Syracuse either.  They are everywhere, keep about everything they catch    (size and limits don't matter to them) and will trespass on private property  if they know a bite is good somewhere where they don't have permission to access.  Fish fear the beard. 

[zcm_82]

You won't escape the bearded army around Syracuse either.  They are everywhere, keep about everything they catch    (size and limits don't matter to them) and will trespass on private property  if they know a bite is good somewhere where they don't have permission to access.  Fish fear the beard.

I lost access to a good private pond because of that sort several years ago

I, and a few others had permission to fish it, but so many fuggnuts were tresspassing, leaving garbage, and thinning the fish out that the owners ended up fencing the place off and not allowing anyone to fish there anymore.

[CWlake]

You won't escape the bearded army around Syracuse either.  They are everywhere, keep about everything they catch    (size and limits don't matter to them) and will trespass on private property  if they know a bite is good somewhere where they don't have permission to access.  Fish fear the beard.

       Good to see you back on here wax. It's been a little while since you and Stinkybaits had a spat about reels. I wonder how prison life is for that nutcase.

[wax_worm]

       Good to see you back on here wax. It's been a little while since you and Stinkybaits had a spat about reels. I wonder how prison life is for that nutcase.

Drugs are a nasty habit that can ruin a person and their family in short order.  Stinky is a perfect example of how quickly things can go south.   He may be fishing for trouser trout in the slammer.

[taxi1]

Forecast is finally shaping up by the weekend with single digits for lows in northern Indiana. Just make sure you check ice with a spud and don't be in too much of a hurry. We don't want to lose you!

[zcm_82]

A couple of the little puddles around here will probably be good to go tomorrow. Been checking a handful of ponds daily since they skimmed earlier this week and I'll be checking again this afternoon after work. A few others should be ready Friday or Saturday.

Ones around here that didn't completely skin over before that wind yesterday were wide open again though.

[river_scum]

Drugs are a nasty habit that can ruin a person and their family in short order.  Stinky is a perfect example of how quickly things can go south.   He may be fishing for trouser trout in the slammer.

ill bet he isnt "hammering" them though. lol

lookin good for ice but ill wait n see.  i miss the good ol days when 2" would support me.  not now oink oink.    i wish they would come out with a helium suit so we could just walk on water. lol

[zcm_82]

I have the same problem... 2-2.5" just won't cut it anymore 

[taxi1]

ill bet he isnt "hammering" them though. lol

lookin good for ice but ill wait n see.  i miss the good ol days when 2" would support me.  not now oink oink.    i wish they would come out with a helium suit so we could just walk on water. lol

You can make your own. Just rent a helium tank they use to blow up balloons and inject your suit. You can walk around on the ice like you only weigh 50 lbs.! Just a word of caution: If you spring a leak you might go through the ice screaming like some one cut off your balls. 

For those that don't know helium gas if inhaled makes you sound funny with a high pitched voice.

https://www.balloon-decoration-guide.com/helium-tanks.html

[taxi1]

Blowing like a ***** out there today with gusts up to 45 mph and temps dropping into the teens. The good news is little to no snow predicted and the ice on my ponds is intact and not breaking up. So hopefully on the lakes too.

[river_scum]

yea bad here too. id need an anchor to stay put in my helium suit out there.   can you see me running for a flag like armstrong on the moon. lmao

[zcm_82]

It's flat nasty out there today 😬 The temp is dropping nicely, though. It was 32° here when I got up at 3am. It's 19 at the moment.

This wind is supposed to lay off a bit after sunset. Gonna be a bit breezy tomorrow, but nothing like today.

[taxi1]

yea bad here too. id need an anchor to stay put in my helium suit out there.   can you see me running for a flag like armstrong on the moon. lmao

I would pay to see that!

[Lee1977]

Can’t imagine what the bigger lakes look like after this wind. I’m protected by a lot of it and it looks like the ice is bouncing some as there’s water all around the edges. We’ve had a little snow and it’s blowing across the ice and doing a good job of polishing the ice, that’ll make for some slick walking!

[zcm_82]

Can’t imagine what the bigger lakes look like after this wind. I’m protected by a lot of it and it looks like the ice is bouncing some as there’s water all around the edges. We’ve had a little snow and it’s blowing across the ice and doing a good job of polishing the ice, that’ll make for some slick walking!

Everything round here that wasn't locked up before the wind started kicking up yesterday was wide open by afternoon.

I had to make a run up north, and there were ponds along the interstate where one would be solid, and one right next to it or across from it was open water. Anything that had locked up should be ok, anything that wasn't might take a while after this blow.

[Lee1977]

I’m about ready to go out and take a drive to see what things look like. I’ve got a few ponds that I fish that might of opened up also. Will also check some of the bigger lakes which I’m guessing are totally open.

[zcm_82]

I'm doing a pond check in a few hours. Hoping this wind didn't break the one that had a fair chance of being ready tomorrow up. Also hoping this ridiculous wind drove the geese off it. There were 100-150 of them waddling around on the ice yesterday when I checked it.

[Lee1977]

I ventured out and drove by several lakes and ponds. The smaller lakes and ponds are still pretty much locked up. The bigger lakes are probably 90% open and have ice piled towards the eastern side. It will be some time before they are ready. The smaller ones should be ready by Saturday I would think. I’ll keep an eye on my pond and report ice thickness each day. Stay safe out there!

[zcm_82]

Just rechecked the same 4 ponds. The wind broke up the two bigger ones, they're open water. Two smaller ones have about 1.5" of good clear ice. There's probably 500+ geese in the open ones, so I don't see those refreezing.

[MisterIzzo]

Checked all the notable lakes in Porter County before today's winds and then during the winds around noon.  Everything bigger than an acre was anywhere from 50% to 90% locked up.  After these winds everything got shredded.  Let's just hope the winds lay down long enough that things can start to lock up tonight and tomorrow.  Such a shame, we could be building inches per day if things had locked prior to these winds.

Keep that snow away and we'll at least be on sometime in the next 7-10 days.