Ice Conditions - Island Grove - Jan 26/13, What A Difference A Week Makes

[Vampire With Freckles]

Hi Folks:

Drove up to check out the ice conditions late on Saturday afternoon. I was pleasantly surprised to discovered a major difference in the lake/ice conditions compared to last Saturday - or - what a difference a week makes with no wind and really cold weather.

This is what I discovered - the lake in the Island Grove area appears to be frozen over for as far as I could see. The shoreline and ramps at Island Grove are rough due to the fact that chunks of ice that were pushed up on shore during the high winds last weekend and have frozen in place. I observed several ice huts (I couldn't tell if they were portable or permanent huts) between the SE tip of Snake Island and Roches Point and/or the top of Cook's Bay.

There were lots of tracks (ski doo and ATV) in the snow which was between 1-2 inches deep around the ramps at Island Grove. I personally spoke to a guy coming off the lake on a ski doo who had been out on the lake most of the day and he advised me there is at least 5-8 inches of clear blue ice thoughout the channel area between the mainland and Snake Island. He also advised me there is at least 5 inches of clear blue ice between Snake Island and Fox Island and there were several ice huts out between the islands.

I personally didn't venture out on the ice but hope to do so in the near future.

Please take precautions if you are venturing out on the ice and always check the thickness of the ice in the area you are planning to cross. Also, please note there were 2-3 foot white caps on the lake in this area only 7 days ago.

Hope this helps some of the board members out.

That's all for now, Nancy

[wormdunker]

Thanx for posting ice conditions. I used to fish that area. 1 day was non stop perchin for 4 hours! I may have to visit it again.

[iceicewalker]

Thanks for this report.