Hi everyone! First and foremost we are extending our hours beginning this Saturday, 12/22. Our hours will be Saturday and Sunday from 7 am to 6 pm. Monday, Christmas Eve we will be open from 8 am to 4 pm, and CLOSED on Christmas Day. After Christmas our weekday hours will be Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm. Stop on in for your last minute Christmas Shopping! Grab a gift certificate or check out our supply of good stocking stuffers as well as Rod and Reel combos! We also have a great big-ticket item such a new Strikemaster Lithium 40 volt 8 inch Lazer Auger for $549.99 for your favorite fisherperson!
On 12/19 and 12/20 we spent a good amount of time on the ice doing another thickness check and to look for historic springs that have been active in the past. We drilled a bunch of holes from Waconia Bay to Center Reef, and east of the marina to Cemetery Reef. We did not do any drilling in the other locations we’ve checked in the past. We generally found that the ice has grown from our previous report on 12/14 by typically around 1 inch to sometimes as much as 2 inches. It has obviously been a mild stretch of weather this past week which has definitely hampered ice growth. The good news is, a lot of the snow has melted, so if we can get some cold, it should help the ice grow quicker. Where there remain snow drifts, you can expect a lot of slush underneath at this time. Since the warm-up, there was a little water on the surface that will freeze and make it very slippery, so be prepared with a good set of ice cleats.
As for our search for historically springs, we definitely saw what we expected. We found two major springs located between Cemetery Reef and Anderson’s Reef. Both springs have been active in the past and are active again and dangerous. We marked them both with lath board and flagging tape. Despite our markings, we still suggest paying extra attention on that side of the lake. While looking for the springs today, we walked around a lot of the ice beyond Cemetery and toward Anderson’s. We never took our ATV on that ice, as we just didn’t ever feel comfortable enough with the quality of the ice there yet. Lots of variability.
If you’re heading our way with a wheel-house this weekend, you are still welcome to use our pay access. If you plan to leave your house on the ice for more than a day or two, pay attention to the weather forecast for after Christmas as there are predictions for significant snowfall. For us Ice Fishing enthusiasts, keep your fingers crossed that the forecasts are wrong so we can keep building quality ice with cold weather and little snow.
Stay safe and we’ll see you on the lake!
