We will be open tomorrow, 1/1/21 from 10 am to 5 pm. Saturday and Sunday we have longer hours and will be open from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm. During the week starting Monday we open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm
We placed 2 of our rental fish houses on the ice today! Our 7’ x 14’ 6-hole fish houses #5 and #6 are in Waconia Bay within walking distance of the marina. Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve. Click here for rates and info…https://drive.google.com/file/d/1UxHHzr7rX6HPs-n7OV1YW_Eilp940Wi5/view
Have a safe New Year’s Eve night and a Happy New Year!
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12/30/2020
We were out on the ice in Waconia Bay today, 12/30/2020 checking the impact of last night’s snow. Thankfully we didn’t get as much as predicted. Because of that, we have decided to open our access tomorrow to ATV’s and Side-by-sides and small-to-mid size wheel houses (single-axle houses under 16 feet). Keep in mind, we are ONLY allowing use from our access to Waconia Bay. We didn’t drill as many holes today, but we found ice ranging from 9 to 13 inches in Waconia Bay, with plenty of the holes around 12 inches. However, it’s not 12 inches of clear ice, it’s 8 to 9 inches of clear ice with 3 to 4 inches of frozen white slush ice on top. East of the marina as you get to the walleye “hole” or “hump” is still not thick enough for ATV use at this time. That area you can walk to, but check ahead of yourself if you’re going further east and north as that is newer ice that is not as thick (around 4 inches in holes we drilled).
There will be areas of snow drifted up to 6 inches deep in some spots on the way to Waconia Bay so keep that in mind if you’re hauling a house out. Most of the ice has 2 to 3 inches of snow on top so it’s manageable to get around. Chains are a must on your ATV if you’re towing anything.We are not allowing people to drive on our frontage with trucks, etc… to disconnect houses to leave them on the ice in front of the marina. If you are bringing your house, be prepared to take it out to your spot right away. There is minimal area on our parking lot to leave it for more than a few minutes.
Because the ice varies so much beyond Waconia Bay and Wagener’s Bay, we are recommending you NOT use your ATV’s beyond those two locations unless you are doing serious checking ahead of yourself. We know many people want to get to Center Reef and other popular reefs to the north and east, but there are too many thinner areas outside of the bays at this point.
We’ll see you on the ice!
Tuesday, December 29, 2020
In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12/29/2020
As promised today, 12/29 we made a thorough check through Wagener’s bay. We drilled the south side of the bay and up throughout the deep “crappie hole”. What we were finding for ice thicknesses was very similar to the ice that we have in Waconia Bay, 8 to 12 inches of ice combined with frozen slush ice. Speaking of Waconia Bay, the ice that was layered with water last week seems to have frozen all the way through, which is excellent news. Also, ice between the marinas in the Walleye “hole” or “hump was up to 4 inches in the holes we drilled. We did check part of Pillsbury and that’s where things start to transition, so if you’re looking to get on certain parts of that reef, definitely check around a bit. Between Pillsbury and Center Reefs, extending up from Harm’s Point to the northwest side of the lake, the newer ice begins. This ice we drilled was between 3.75 to 5 inches. We have NOT been east of Center Reef yet.
Keep in mind, with the snowfall we are getting tonight, many of the transitions that have lesser ice will be hidden. That’s why it’s extremely important this year to check ahead of yourself. Many years we can mark locations with lesser ice, but there are too many variances this year to mark it.We are still only allowing walking through our access at this time. We expect to open our access to ATV and Snowmobile use soon, but are waiting to see what the snowfall brings. We’ll keep you updated when we know more.
We’ll see you on the ice!
In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12/28/2020
We took an extended ice walk today, 12/28. There is still a wide variance of ice to report. Waconia Bay continues to be the most comfortable ice to walk on that we have checked. We are finding 8 to 12 inches of ice combined with frozen slush ice in that area. We drilled more holes by the “Walleye hole” or “hump” between the marinas. The ice on that hump or “Walleye Hole” is some of the freshest ice on the lake and is between 3 to 3.5 inches. From that area we headed up towards “Under the Wires” and out toward Center Reef. On our way to Center we encountered a lot of chunk ice that is jagged where the wind blew apart the ice in the blizzard. Out near Center Reef we found some of the newer ice with expansive areas of 3” and move onto find areas of 4 or 5 inches.
We have not been to Wagener’s Bay yet, but will give you a report here when we do so in the coming days. As always use caution and drill plenty of holes. This is the weirdest freeze up that we can remember.
Thanks, and be safe
In Towne Marina
We have not been to Wagener’s Bay yet, but will give you a report here when we do so in the coming days. As always use caution and drill plenty of holes. This is the weirdest freeze up that we can remember.
Thanks, and be safe
In Towne Marina
Thursday, December 24, 2020
In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12/24/2020 - We OPEN for the season after Christmas on 12/26 at 10 am!
First things first, we will be OPENING the bait shop this Saturday the 26th and Sunday the 27th from 10 am to 5 pm! We will announce future store hours later in the weekend. The access will ONLY be open to walking and portables. Sorry, NO ATV’s at this time. Our Winter Season Pass is $35. If you’d like to save time, you can fill out our Season Pass form and bring it with you at time of purchase. If you choose to pay our access fee daily, it is $2 to walk out. Once we are able to drive vehicles, the fee to drive on is $3 per day Monday through Thursday and $5 per day on Friday, Saturday and Sunday and Holidays. Here is the Season Pass form… https://drive.google.com/file/d/15onXnmIViNRvCwtsUjkftO5gNT4DPK6e/view?usp=sharing
We took our first ice walk of the season today (Christmas Eve) and only ventured out to Waconia Bay and a little bit in front of the marina. Like many of you, we have been patiently waiting for Lake Waconia to completely freeze over. Wednesday morning over half of the lake was still open. Later in the day the blizzard and extreme cold came in with a roar and left us with a wide variety of ice out to Waconia Bay.
Despite the heavy snow and extreme wind, the ice we checked today, while varied, was in reasonable shape. However, between the marinas there is still a very large area of open water that encompasses what we refer at times to as “the hump” or “the hole” and out to Cemetery Reef. We also see open water on the west and east sides of Coney Island. There is also an area that is deep into Waconia Bay in the weedy shallows where open water existed pre-storm. Thankfully most people don’t go that deep into the bay, but if you’re coming from the park, pay attention. Other areas that we saw driving from the road appeared open in a small spot in southern part of Wagener’s Bay. Also, it’s open by Harm’s Point and going to the north past the western side of Center Reef to the northwest side of the lake. There will likely be pockets open yet on the main lake as there are plenty of ducks, geese and swans hanging around. Basically, if you were hoping to fish Harm’s Point, Center Reef or the main lake to the east, you’ll have to wait as ice is forming, but definitely in the early stages with plenty of open water yet.
Ice that we checked from the marina out to along the weed line that people generally ice fish in Waconia Bay has a base layer of 6 to 7.5 inches with a variety of snow, frozen slush and layered ice/slush on top of that base layer. To give you an idea of the variance, you could find at best ice that had a base layer of 6 inches with 4 inches of frozen slush on top for a combined total of 10 inches. Don’t get too excited by that though, as not far away you could see ice that was a base layer of 6 inches, with 5 inches of water sandwiched between a crusted 4 inch top-layer of frozen slush. It seemed clear that heavy drifting occurred, likely sinking the ice and flooding the snow. Where the snow was thicker, the ice has that sandwiched layer, which would be bad news for anyone bringing anything heavy across that area. Where the snow wasn’t as heavily drifted, as long as it saturated, the extreme cold was able to penetrate it to freeze those areas solid.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking to go fish Waconia Bay in 10 to 15 feet of water, it was good walkable ice. Of course we always advise anglers to check for themselves and be prepared with a chisel and safety picks your first time on the ice wherever you go.
Have a Merry Christmas and we’ll see you on Saturday!
We took our first ice walk of the season today (Christmas Eve) and only ventured out to Waconia Bay and a little bit in front of the marina. Like many of you, we have been patiently waiting for Lake Waconia to completely freeze over. Wednesday morning over half of the lake was still open. Later in the day the blizzard and extreme cold came in with a roar and left us with a wide variety of ice out to Waconia Bay.
Despite the heavy snow and extreme wind, the ice we checked today, while varied, was in reasonable shape. However, between the marinas there is still a very large area of open water that encompasses what we refer at times to as “the hump” or “the hole” and out to Cemetery Reef. We also see open water on the west and east sides of Coney Island. There is also an area that is deep into Waconia Bay in the weedy shallows where open water existed pre-storm. Thankfully most people don’t go that deep into the bay, but if you’re coming from the park, pay attention. Other areas that we saw driving from the road appeared open in a small spot in southern part of Wagener’s Bay. Also, it’s open by Harm’s Point and going to the north past the western side of Center Reef to the northwest side of the lake. There will likely be pockets open yet on the main lake as there are plenty of ducks, geese and swans hanging around. Basically, if you were hoping to fish Harm’s Point, Center Reef or the main lake to the east, you’ll have to wait as ice is forming, but definitely in the early stages with plenty of open water yet.
Ice that we checked from the marina out to along the weed line that people generally ice fish in Waconia Bay has a base layer of 6 to 7.5 inches with a variety of snow, frozen slush and layered ice/slush on top of that base layer. To give you an idea of the variance, you could find at best ice that had a base layer of 6 inches with 4 inches of frozen slush on top for a combined total of 10 inches. Don’t get too excited by that though, as not far away you could see ice that was a base layer of 6 inches, with 5 inches of water sandwiched between a crusted 4 inch top-layer of frozen slush. It seemed clear that heavy drifting occurred, likely sinking the ice and flooding the snow. Where the snow was thicker, the ice has that sandwiched layer, which would be bad news for anyone bringing anything heavy across that area. Where the snow wasn’t as heavily drifted, as long as it saturated, the extreme cold was able to penetrate it to freeze those areas solid.
In a nutshell, if you’re looking to go fish Waconia Bay in 10 to 15 feet of water, it was good walkable ice. Of course we always advise anglers to check for themselves and be prepared with a chisel and safety picks your first time on the ice wherever you go.
Have a Merry Christmas and we’ll see you on Saturday!
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