Quick Lake Waconia Ice Update - 12/31/15

Quick update...despite the cold night last night, as expected there was only a minor change to the ice thickness. We are still finding mostly between 3.5 to 4.5 inches of clear ice with an average of 4 out front of our marina. There are still areas of slush under snow that has yet to freeze on the surface of the ice. We will not be doing a more thorough check of other areas of the lake until we can use a 4-wheeler. At this time we are recommending walking only. Have a safe and happy new year!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12/29/15 - Store Hours Resume!

The major snow stayed away!  I’ll get to the ice report in a second, but because we lucked out and had less snow than predicted, we will be resuming store hours!  During this early ice period, our hours are 9:30am to 5:30pm from Monday thru Friday.  On Saturday and Sunday we will be here from 8am to 5:30pm.

Now to the ice report…We were on the ice earlier today, and while it’s not ideal with the new snow, we are very happy it was a minimal storm.  We continue to see ice ranging between 3.5 to 4 inches in thickness, with a lot of it right around 4 in Waconia Bay and out front toward the “walleye hole”. There are scattered areas of slush throughout, with snow depths of 3 to 6 inches in some cases.  As we’ve mentioned in other reports, we expect the snowfall to greatly slow down the ice making process, so we have to be patient.  Thankfully the forecast looks like the cold weather is here to stay for a while, so that will help freeze up the slush and penetrate the snow over time.  We’ll post another ice update later in the week.  We hope to see you soon!

12/2715 Quick ice update and Hours

We just got off the lake to see what last night’s cold did for the ice growth.  Unfortunately the fresh snow did its thing and kept the ice growth to a minimum.  We were still finding 3-3.75” out in front of the Marina.

The Bait Shop will not be open for business on Monday the 28^th and Tuesdays the 29^th. We are going to hunker down while we wait to see what Mother Nature dishes out. We are hoping the snow event forecasted for Monday and Tuesday steers clear of Lake Waconia! If the snow we receive is significant and blankets the lake, we might not be able to reopen right away. We hope to have good news on Tuesday to share with you all!

We did have our first Ice and Dice contest winner last night! A nice 20” Walleye caught out in front of the marina! 

Quick Lake Waconia Ice Update - 12/26/15

Hope everyone had a great Christmas! We took a quick ice walk to Waconia Bay and over to the walleye hole between the marinas this morning and found between 3 to 3.75 inches, with an average of 3.25 inches. Currently we have 3 inches of snow on the surface, while expecting more. The snow won’t help us gain ice thickness as quickly despite cold temps, as it creates an insulating factor. We'll be monitoring the situation in the coming days. Keep in mind, we haven’t been on the ice elsewhere, and we’ve seen from a distance small areas kept open by geese on the west end of Wagener’s Bay, so pay close attention during this early ice period. We recommend chiseling ahead of yourself and use early ice safety precautions if you head out. We’ll update our hours later tomorrow!

Open Saturday 12/26 and Sunday 12/27 from 9:30am to 5

Good news! We will be OPEN this Saturday 12/26 and Sunday 12/27 from 9:30am to 5pm. Mother Nature helped the ice situation on Lake Waconia, by providing rain yesterday instead of snow! Our wish for cold weather was also granted, which helped freeze the rain on the surface of the ice, increasing the thickness. Jim checked the ice this morning (12/24), and found a consistent 3 inches in the numerous holes he chiseled out front of our marina, toward Waconia Bay, and over by the “walleye hole” between the marinas. We expect tonight’s overnight temps to help add incrementally to our ice totals, before the snow comes. Speaking of the snow, we will determine if we open during the upcoming week or how long, based on how much snow accumulates on the ice. We’ll do some more ice checking later in the weekend, and update our store hours at that time. In the meantime, we hope to see you on Saturday! Merry Christmas!

Lake Waconia Ice Update - 12/22/15 - We remain Closed for the short-term

Lake Waconia froze over last Friday night into Saturday!  However, because of milder weather, the ice is growing slower and isn’t the hard early ice we are used to most years.  We checked our frontage today, and found between 1.5 to 2.25 inches of ice. Being so thin, we didn’t go any further.  As usual, we do not open our bait shop until there is walkable ice on Lake Waconia. We will remain closed for the short term and look forward to better conditions hopefully in the near future.   Ask Santa for colder, ice-making weather!  Have a Merry Christmas!