Ice Conditions

I know that there is none yet, but getting close........ Can feel it in the air and a check of some local skinny water spots in SE Wisconsin this morning are showing positive signs of icing up!

Let's use this space to post ice sightings and conditions throughout the season.

Travel safe and use caution checking early ice spots. Safety first!

Waubesa and Kegonsa capped last night. Glare first ice!

Thanks for the update Jim. Nice crappie that you caught!

Ice starting to form on SE WI lakes! Tichigan, Big Muskego, Eagle! Larger lakes still open but should lock up with the predicted cold over the next 36 hours. Tichigan gave up some good gills and crappies today! Clam Caviar jig with white Maki Polli plastic.

Be safe and always aware. Check with your local bait shops before you go out ensure that conditions are safe for travel. Have a throw rope and ice picks with you at all times. Make sure that your ice picks float!

Ice conditions are improving in Southern Wisconsin. I had the ATV out on six inches of ice. Some snow drifts but chains weren't needed yet.

Water rescue on Kegonsa this am, airboat at Fish Camp. They got them out, hope they will be OK. When it froze, the lake had soft spots in the center, then snow. Because we had a warm Nov and early Dec the water didn't thoroughly mix and chill. Some saw ATV's out and thought they could run the lake, but I just went out to the edge of the basin in 28 fow and fished in a 100 yard area where we had six inches of ice. Avoid the middle and have flotation and safety gear like Dan described.

Since the warm weather and rain received Christmas weekend, the snow has been broken down and the glare ice has been allowed to thicken with below freezing temperatures. You can see the depths of some of the cracks which give a clue to ice thickness. That being said, Mendota is still wide open. I will keep fishing smaller lakes on the Yahara chain, with many others doing quite well on the blugills this season.

Ice is now well over a foot thick on Kegonsa and the perch fishing is no longer the good first ice action. I had a tip-up out about 20 feet from my Fish Trap (it was below zero this morning) and a big Whitey was on. When it came time to land it, I had a hard time getting him turned up the hole, like he was hung up on another line. I decided to go ahead and pull him up hard against the resistance and when I was taking out the small treble hook with a forceps, the 6 lb line broke against the tension. When I got back to the Fish Trap, one of my ice rods was out of the rod holder, jammed down in it's hole. I quickly (and carefully) snatched it out and breathed a big sigh of relief. I like to put the double paddle handle of the Shimano Spirex on my rear drag Symetres. The 2500 sized Frankenstein didn't make it down the 6 inch hole after the white bass ran with the tip-up line. I wouldn't think it doesn't fit but I am sure lucky it didn't because I only have two of those set-ups.

NBC 15 News

Two men were on ATV's on Lake Mendota when one went in. His partner went to shore to get a strap and got him out and back. The emergency crews recovered the flotation equipped (required on Madison lakes) ATV. I haven't been running the lake yet but have fished some of the shallows with some success.

We had another annual Kids Ice Fishing Day with the Yahara Fishing Club at Brittingham Park on Monona Bay yesterday. I went out in the fog to get ready to assist with the ice fishing and when my friend joined me, he said that we weren't advising families to come out. The deputy had visited and asked that we do that so we willingly agreed. There was a lot of open water from the outlet extending all along the shelter house where we stage. I was planning to set up a Clam Garage 8 x 14 on ice, opened up but with the possibility of rain it might have concentrated people. Ten people averaging 200 pounds would be a ton and the Bigfoot XL6000T could probably fit at least double that which would equal the weight of a car. Always erring on the side of caution is required for events so it will be a great raffle prize for out fundraiser is February. Fishing was pretty good with a variety of sized bluegills and no issues with ice conditions were noticed other than having to walk through six inches of water on the ice at the access. We still gave out well over 100 rods, depthfinders and buckets along with plenty of hot dogs and cocoa for everyone. A fair amount of raffle tickets and memberships were sold so it still was a worthwhile event for our club.

Ice conditions in south east Wisconsin have claimed a life this week. Lake Geneva, a large spring fed jewel of a lake is not safe at this time. Please be aware as you travel the lakes in this area over the next few days. Ice conditions can change quickly as we have had no -0 temps in the past 18 days and we have experienced only 3 days in the last 18 that were in single digits. Prediction is for some low temps in the next 3 to 4 days, so things should firm up a bit. As shared in the first post - have your flotation devices with you and take every precaution that is necessary. Fish with a partner, let other's know where you will be fishing and apply common sense at this time.

RIP Mike............. My thoughts and prayers to your family.

Ice conditions have improved slightly from the above freezing temperature stretch we have endured. Last night I walked off solid ice at Lot 60 when a week ago it was stepping through one foot deep water. This is on Lake Mendota where there still is an open water heave at the front of Warner Bay. Hopefully it will skim over or expand to overlap. Fishing was steady action on small gills. I thought it was like fishing Wingra, not the big lake.

After rain midweek and then single digits overnights, the heaves are pretty hairy when the ice expands. This one changed during the day yesterday with the bright sun and warm temps. I created the floating chunks with my ATV by crossing it on my way back to the launch. Not my favorite thing and I made sure I was wearing my floating ice picks.

I traveled north this weekend. I've always find it interesting how the ice conditions change from one area to another. Down here in Walworth County we have smaller sized lakes that have 9-10 inches of ice as of last night. Larger Lakes like Lake Geneva and Lake Delavan have safe ice in the bays, but there is a lot of open water. Then travel a couple hours north to Castle Rock or Petenwell and you have 20 inches and maybe more.

I believe that it is time to get in our last ice fishing outings. This was from Valentines Day and I got out one more time since with my Nebulus equipped four wheeler. Did not want to go out from my usual launch on Mendota because the worry is a strong indication of safety concerns. Trust your instincts guys, your family and friends will respect you for it.

Ice fishing is done for this season in Madison. Walking off tonight, the ice felt springy, water was moving up and down in nearby holes. Stayed for walleye but no fish.
Difficult for me to believe that it is actually over, but it is.

next time i,ll fish more than trying to find them
still had fun.
and i cannot believe it is over.

Hey Dan Riddle! You are a good wingman and we worked as a team to find the best places to fish. I drilled with the 6" Clam drill plate with my new Dewalt 996 (which was easy with this late last ice) and you used the camera to locate fish in the shallow bay. In 4 fow the fish would spook from the drilling and ice cleats, but soon would settle down and become catchable. I had confidence with my 42 inch Pulsator that if I worked my presentation down to the bottom and up to the ice, an active fish would hit without using a Vexilar. Covering water but keeping hot holes in mind paid off in a last ice limit. The big crappies were 12" (mouth closed) and one nice Mendota gill which seemed bigger than 9.

Had 3-4 inches the few places I checked in southwest wisconsin. hope the last two days of 40+ doesn't hurt it too much but I'm sure it will. And would rather not have the snow before it really cools down.

5-6" on some medium sized lakes in Polk county as of last weekend, but over in Birchwood area only about 2-3" - we all need to be very careful right now, inconsistent ice everywhere - cold snap coming up should make some good ice

About 4" around the Turtle Lake area last weekend. Expecting to see ATV's on the ice tomorrow in the area.