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How long will the ice last?

How long will the ice last?

  • 2 weeks

    Votes: 1 25.0%
  • 3 weeks

    Votes: 2 50.0%
  • 4 weeks

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • other?

    Votes: 1 25.0%

  • Total voters
    4
  • Poll closed .
It's melting! It's melting! :smiley_crazy:

Since this is my first year of ice fishing, I've not paid much attention to how long it takes for the ice to melt off and not be "safe" to fish. However, the ice will surely melt quicker than it froze. One thing's for sure and for certain...it won't be long and the ice fishing will be gone. :smiley_byebye:

What's your best guess, as to how much longer we'll be able to fish on the hard water?

* 2 weeks
* 3 weeks
* 4 weeks
* other?

Thank you, Bowhunter57
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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NW Ohio Tundra
It won't be worth crap in a couple days after mid 50's. Even if you could get on it there will be a lot of water sitting on top of the ice which makes conditions less than favorable, and not to mention slippery as hell. It will freeze back up during the next cold snap, but we don't have a lot of time left, less than 2 weeks.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
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Ohio
Not that I'd want to fish on since it's gonna be so sloppy, but I bet the ice will be "fishable" for at least two, maybe 3 more weeks. I was sitting on well over 15" this weekend at New London Reservoir.
 
I'm guessing about 3 weeks, myself. There's a solid 11" to 13" of good ice on most of the lakes/ponds that I've been fishing. :smiley_bril: It will depend on how much water is on top of the ice, as to how miserable it gets to be out there fishing.

I talked to a guy that was ice fishing on Lake Michigan, last March. He caught an estimated 15+ lb. lake trout, while standing in 8" of water...through 14" of ice. He got the trout through the hole in the ice, but it got off his line and swam away in the 8" of water. :smiley_armscrossed: Yep...he said some bad words. :smiley_crocodile:

Otherwise, I guess I'll have to go out and kill a few coyotes to "entertain" myself, until there's some open water. :smiley_blink:

Good hunting, Bowhunter57
 
Last edited:
was down at the paylake last two days sighting in the new 22-250 , and shooting some other guns , the first day of the warm spell the ice was ok , the second day you could brak through the edges with a 2x4 it lost almsot 3 inchs of ice in 2 days it wont be long now and open water will be here im thinking two weeks at the max
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
18,060
223
Ohio
was down at the paylake last two days sighting in the new 22-250 , and shooting some other guns , the first day of the warm spell the ice was ok , the second day you could brak through the edges with a 2x4 it lost almsot 3 inchs of ice in 2 days it wont be long now and open water will be here im thinking two weeks at the max

One thing to keep in mind is that it melts close to shore first, due to the radiation being absorbed by the rocks, grass and soil. It may be a few inches next to shore, but probably quite a bit thicker out away from shore. I think it's supposed to get cold again this weekend.
 

Gern186

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
10,171
201
NW Ohio Tundra
One thing to keep in mind is that it melts close to shore first, due to the radiation being absorbed by the rocks, grass and soil. It may be a few inches next to shore, but probably quite a bit thicker out away from shore. I think it's supposed to get cold again this weekend.

That means you would have to jump from shore to land on the existing ice and "hope" that it is thick enough to hold you.......No thanks, I will wait for all the ice to melt.
 

jagermeister

Dignitary Member
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18,060
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Ohio
That means you would have to jump from shore to land on the existing ice and "hope" that it is thick enough to hold you.......No thanks, I will wait for all the ice to melt.

LOL... never said I was gonna give it a try, Gern... I was just sayin'. :) Most of the ponds I drove by today actually had open water around the first 5 or 6 feet of shore. I was trying to stay optimistic about the ice, but I'm starting to have my doubts now. Needless to say, all of my ice gear got put up in the loft this afternoon.
 
Kat, I was wondering iof anyone has went and checked any spots out. it was 60 around here yesterday, that had to melt some serious ice

the pay lake had 9 inchs of ice most of the winter and its 3 plus acres in size and over 15 foot deep , and now there is 3 feet of clear water all the way around the ice ,tappan has some open spots , every one im talking to is done ice fishing for the year , the warm weather has the ice all fuggerd , hard to tell whats safe and whats not
 

badger

*Supporting Member*
I skipped out on todays fishing so I could get a few things done before work starts back up. My buddies have been fishing since 7:30 this morning without much action. They said they had plenty of ice and didn't have to plank out.
 
Well, I was waaaaay off, in my "guesstimation" of how long the ice would last. At least, in my area. I was out on a local lake (Lima Lake on S.R. 81) on Tuesday the 15th and there was 11" of ice. I went out this past Saturday, the 19th and there's 6" of ice. I had to jump over a 2 foot gap of water to get on the good ice.

After getting out on the ice, I was hearing some cracking noises and I just took it to be stress cracks from the melting. I got about 150 yds. out on the lake, drilled a hole, set up my shelter and started fishing. I kept hearing the stress crack noises and didn't think too much of it...until one of them ripped through the ice I was fishing on and I felt the ice shift. :smiley_baby:

My estimated "escape time" was too long...with all the stuff I had set up, so I packed it all in my sled and set down on my stuff to consider what was happening. I got my pole out and fished some more, sitting on my sled of gear and listened to the cracking noises. :smiley_chinrub:

Like it was in some movie, I heard a crack traveling across the lake ice and watched it rip across in front of me, by about 12 feet. :smiley_crazy: Yep...I left...as quickly as my ice cleats would get me off of the lake. As I walked back the way I'd came, I seen about 3 or 4 new cracks in the ice. These cracks were clear through the 6" of ice, but there was no separation. However, the 2 foot span of water that I'd jumped over on the way out had moved and/or caused a shelf of ice that was free floating and I had to run to get off of it and on the land.

Yep...the ice fishing's over in my area! I'm going shopping for a kayak and getting my gear ready for open water. :smiley_blink:

Good hunting, Bowhunter57