However, we still have some areas to avoid. Previous goose hole locations like North Center reef and north of Center Reef are still thin or open. They are lightly marked with lath board and flagging tape. There is another area that an angler marked just north of West Center Reef (and east of Pillsbury) that is thinner as well. We also marked a long pressure ridge that extends south and west of Coney Island (see the pic below). That Ridge will be one to watch out for a while. We also marked 2 of the main springs (see pic of one of them below) that we annually keep an eye on and a thinner area well east of Cemetery Reef and west of Anderson’s Reef. They were not technically “open”, but dangerous nonetheless.
As for 4-wheeling, we don’t want to sound hypocritical, as we did today’s check with our ATV’s. However, we are CONSTANTLY paying attention for strange looking ice and drilling lots of holes along the way. We also avoid all of the bad areas with the wheeler and walk to mark them if possible. So, in summation, as always, ice is never safe. Because of the locations we mentioned above, we still think it’s generally a good idea to walk out to get to your fishing spot. If you decide to take an ATV, please check ahead of yourself, especially if going way out on the main lake. We CANNOT mark every area of bad ice on the lake, and we have not checked over ½ of the lake.
Hopefully the arctic blast coming later in the week into next week will help us get even more exciting news to discuss in the future as the ice thickens. We look forward to the ice conditions hopefully improving, but will likely not be doing another extensive report until after Christmas.
Speaking of Christmas, our Bait Shop will be CLOSED on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve we will be open until at least 4pm, so stop in for that last minute fishing gift or gift certificate! Also, don’t forget we RENT FISH HOUSES! Our rental season hasn’t started yet, but will soon! Our Fish House Rentals are a popular Christmas gift for the fisherperson in your family that wants to get ice fishing in comfort without the hassle of finding the spot or drilling all the holes.
Good luck fishing and we’ll see you on the ice!
