In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Fishing and Ice Report - 1/20/2020

Ice is averaging between 13 to 17 inches in the areas we have checked and have plowed roads to. We have a great road plowed from the In Towne Marina past Waconia Bay and out to Center Reef and Pillsbury Reef ending near the Rock Dock in Wagener’s Bay. The road is nice and wide and if you need to get off the road, there are plenty of areas to do so plowed by us and guys with their own plows (thanks guys) to find your own fishing spot. If you are looking to get away from the large groups of houses, it is possible to get around off-road to other reefs on the lake with 4-wheel drive. We always suggest checking ahead of yourself if you’re going to an unused or lightly-fished location.

The bite this weekend was very good for sunfish and crappies. One of the pictures below is of Don with his big 2 pound 7 ounce crappie caught on Friday night. Another pic below is of 11 year old Jaidee with her nice 11.4 ounce crappie. Both won prizes on our FREE Ice and Dice game! The bite for sunfish has generally been best during the day with anglers finding them in 10 to 14 feet of water on wax worms. Crappies can be found in those similar areas, but also have been starting to bite deeper too in up to 20 feet on crappie minnows. There has been a continued surprising bass bite at times for some who have pulled a few largemouths out while panfishing. Walleyes have been best in the late evening and overnight hours generally in quieter locations in 14 to 20 feet of water.

We are in the full swing of our Fish House Rental Season! We’ve got 5 rentals on the ice. 2 of them are 4-hole houses, 1 is a 5-hole and 2 are 6-hole houses. We drill the holes, the heat is on and ready for you too fish! They are currently located around 13 feet of water for good daytime sunfish and evening crappies! If you’d like to make a reservation, please call (952) 442-2096.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/16/2020

We have been asked a lot about the ice for the upcoming weekend and the ability to bring bigger houses out to Lake Waconia. Current thicknesses we have checked range from as little as 11 inches up to 17 inches (it’s common to find ice between 13 to 16 inches). While the ice is definitely getting thicker and current conditions allow for tandem wheel houses to be brought out, our concern coming up has more to do with the predicted snow and wind event Friday into Saturday. If you are bringing a house out to Lake Waconia for this weekend, we will not be plowing until the snow stops and WIND SUBSIDES.

We will keep you updated as we know more.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/12/2020

We drilled some holes today where we found some of the lesser ice the other day, and found what was once 9 inches is now at least 10.25 inches. Ice we have checked now ranges between 10.25 to 16.5 inches (keeping in mind that some of the thicker ice likely will have some frozen slush included in that number). The most commonly found ice is between 12 to 15 inches. We have not expanded our checks beyond the areas we have previously reported.

Important! Now that people are driving vehicles on the lake, DRIVE SLOW and give people space! 15 MPH or less would be appropriate. Those wanting a peaceful day or night of fishing GREATLY appreciate it.

We are now allowing tandem fish houses and 3/4 ton trucks through our pay access. As always, drive at your own risk.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/9/2020

We will be extending our bait shop hours starting this Saturday, 1/11! New hours will be Saturday and Sunday from 7 am to 6 pm, and Monday through Friday from 8 am to 6 pm.

We spent a full day on the ice today doing a thorough measuring of ice thicknesses where most anglers are fishing. What we found was promising! It is also best described as inconsistently good. We drilled and measured several hundred holes in many locations, which includes in front of the marina, Waconia Bay, “Under the Wires”, Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener’s Bay. What we found is that there is no rhyme or reason why the ice might be 9 inches in one location and 20 feet away it could be 14 inches. We drilled in snow drifts that sometimes had more ice under them than areas that were clear of any snow nearby, which is totally opposite of what we normally see. Having said that, we are happy with what we measured.

To best describe the variance of ice thicknesses, we are choosing to give you rough percentages of what you can expect to find in the areas we checked. 5% or less of the ice we found between 8.5 to 9.75 inches. 25% of the ice was between 9.75 to 11.5 inches. 30% was measured 11.5 to 13 inches. 25% was between 13 to 14.5 inches. 15% checked was over 14.5 inches (but many times included several inches of frozen slush as part of that larger number). Keep in mind, we did mark a couple of locations to avoid, most notably a very small area north of Waconia Bay that has 3 pieces of lath board with flagging tape marking the only spot we’ve seen with layered ice (water between 2 layers of 5 inches) that hopefully will solidify together with more cold coming. There is also an area of 8.5 inches “Under the Wires” that is very very small. We also marked a small part of Center Reef that has 2 lath markers with as little as 9 inches. Other 9 inch areas we found we left unmarked as they were so small and had more thickness directly surrounding them.

What does this all mean? Well, it means we are opening our access this Friday, 1/10/19 to those of you who wish to drive your cars and small trucks (at your own risk) on to the ice. If you are looking to bring a wheel house out, we still think it’s a good idea to use an ATV or Side by Side if you have one available, but we will allow smaller wheel houses to be pulled behind a car or small truck. We are NOT allowing 3/4-Ton or larger trucks as of yet. Keep in mind, if you are driving on the ice, please drive slow! If you’d like to park on the ice in front of the marina, please spread out. Don’t fill in the spaces like you are parking in the Target parking lot. Don’t forget, we are a pay access. We ask $2 to drive on Monday thru Thursday and $4 on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Winter Season Passes are $30.

We have 3 of our 5 rental fish houses on the ice in Waconia Bay within close walking distance of the marina! If you want the ease of ice fishing without worrying about finding the spot and drilling the holes, we’ve got you covered! The heat is on in the house and ready for you to fish! We currently have both 6-holers (#5 and #6) along with one of our 4-holers (#8) in 11 to 12 feet of water in a good panfish and northern pike location. Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve!

We will see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia extended ice check news coming later Thursday, 1/9

We will be doing a lengthy ice check to the most commonly fished areas on Thursday, 1/9 and will report later that day what we find.

We hope the cold weather the next 36 hours will increase thicknesses enough so we can open our access to bigger fish houses and possibly vehicle traffic by the weekend. Until then, we continue to only allow Snowmobile, ATV & Side by Side use, along with Single-Axle fish houses through the access.

We'll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 1/3/2020

We placed two of our Fish House Rentals on the ice yesterday! They are our 7’ x 14’ 6 hole, 6 person fish houses (#5 and #6). They are located in Waconia Bay in 11 feet of water in a spot that’s good for daytime sunfish and possible northern pike, and the potential for crappies in the evening. They are within walking distance of the marina. We drill all the holes and the heat is on, ready to fish! Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve. Click on our Fish House Rental page for more details… https://intownemarina.com/fish-house-rental

With improving conditions on the ice this week, we are now allowing Single-Axle wheel houses through our access with ATV’s and Side by Sides as long as you are ready to pull it out to the spot right away. Please do not leave them on the ice in front of the marina. We are NOT allowing cars or trucks. We are finding ice thicknesses ranging from 7 to 13 inches at this time, although we do have one area marked north of Waconia Bay on the way to Center that has as little as 5 inches (very small spot). We have only done checking from Waconia Bay to the walleye hole between the marinas and Cemetery Reef, out to Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener’s Bay.

If you’re spreading out to areas away from everyone, keep in mind we still have springs on the east side of the lake (notably between Cemetery Reef and Anderson’s Reef where we have marked at least one area we found again this year). Whether going where the crowd is or off on your own we definitely recommend checking ahead of yourself to find the best path to wherever you’re placing your house as there are still some slush areas that haven’t completely healed under snow and enough drifts you’d want to avoid getting stuck in if you are hauling anything heavy. Chains on your 4-wheeler is a good idea as well.

Anglers continue to have success catching sunfish during the day in the weeds around 9 to 12 feet of water. Wax worms are always good, but we’ve had several people getting good action on larva too. Crappies have been better towards evening. They have been around the weeds too, but also a touch deeper up to 15 feet of water. With the mild weekend, it’s a good idea to set up tip-ups for northern pike in the same areas as the panfish. Don’t be surprised to get a rod-bender bass bite, as we’ve had several successful largemouth bass reports so far. Walleyes continue to be best in the evening or early morning hours before sunrise. Depth ranges between 13 to 18 feet of water near Center Reef, Pillsbury (before it gets too crowded) and the deeper fringe of Waconia Bay are all good early season walleye locations. We have a nice variety of Shiners for those of you looking for them! For those spearing, the water clarity is currently good.

We’ll see you on the ice!