In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 2/26/21

We will be closing for the season after Monday, March 1st. We will be here Saturday and Sunday from 7 am to 6 pm, and on Monday from 10 am to 4 pm.

Fish houses must be removed from the lake by the end of Monday, March 1st.

After March 1st, you may use your fish house on the ice during the day from one hour before sunrise until midnight. It may also remain on the ice from midnight until one hour before sunrise ONLY when occupied or attended.  https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/fishing/shelter.html

When removing your house, please help us keep the lake clean by picking up your trash and blocks when you leave!

It’s amazing we go from a week of 20 below low temps to a week of 40 degree highs. We’ve had plenty of calls from anglers wondering about ice conditions in this warmer period. As of now, the ice is still very thick in the 18 to 28 inch range depending on where you’re going. Accesses are getting beat up due to road salt and heavy usage. We’ve been doing our best to smooth out our access, but it will be wet and bumpy all weekend with this continued warmer weather. You’ll notice orange cones in front of the marina. We are using them to divert traffic around the ruts and potholes to preserve the access for as long as we can. Our access fee is $5 per vehicle per day on the weekend.

Unfortunately we do NOT have any shiners or sucker minnows available this weekend. Fathead minnows are in short supply as well, so we are limiting sales to ½ scoop per customer.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Fish House Rental Discounts from Monday 2/22 to Thursday 2/24/21

The window is closing! Come rent one of our fish houses in the FINAL week of the Season! Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week take 20% OFF normal rental prices! Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve. For more information about the houses, prices and policies check out our link here… https://intownemarina.com/fish-house-rental

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice & Fishing Report - 2/12/21

With the extended period of colder weather over the last week, the lake is in great shape! We have a nice wide road plowed out from the marina to Center Reef and over to Pillsbury Reef. Off the road, you can still get around well with 4-wheel drive.We did an ice check on Thursday, February 11. We were searching for areas of lesser ice, under the deep snow drifts where there is more insulation. We found as little as 14 inches in some of these deeper drifted areas, with the majority of what we found being 15-16 inches. In areas there is minimal snow, we are finding 16-19 inches of ice. In the bays, Waconia and Wagener’s where the older and thicker ice is we are finding 19 to 25 inches of ice. It looks like the cold weather isn’t going anywhere for at least a week, so the ice should be in good shape for the rest of the season.

The fishing has seemed to have picked up a bit in the last week. Sunfish can be had out on Center reef and Pillsbury reef in 10-14 feet of water. It is crucial with the sunfish to be actively jigging for them, as they have been biting very light this year. Having a small jig on has also been very important. The best crappie report has still been coming from the deeper water in Wagener’s Bay, anywhere from 20-25 feet of water. The crappies have also been hitting lighter than normal, so it is better to be actively jigging rather than just watching a bobber. We have had several good reports of pike in the last two weeks on Center and Pillsbury reefs, in anywhere from 9 to 15 feet of water.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Update - 2/4/21 - Access use update!

Access use update…We’ve been expecting some true winter cold at some point and it’s finally here! With temps overnight getting below zero for the next 7 to 10 days, the ice on Lake Waconia will be thickening up nicely. We did another ice check today to see what we could find for minimum thicknesses in locations many anglers are looking to fish, specifically the area around Center Reef. What we found was ice ranging from 11.75 inches to 13 inches in the lesser ice areas we’ve been monitoring all winter. We also found an average of 13 inches out by the “Hump” between the marinas.

What does this mean? It means starting tomorrow (Friday, 2/5/21) we will be opening our access up for use to areas beyond Waconia Bay. Those wishing to get from the marina to Pillsbury Reef, Center Reef or beyond will be able to do so from our access. With the snowfall last night and this morning of about 2 inches, combined with the wind, there may some drifting on the lake. We will not be plowing our normal road to Center, Pillsbury and parts of Wagener’s Bay until the wind subsides, which may be Saturday. 4-wheel drive trucks and AWD SUV’s can get around quite easily out there right now. Cars will likely be able to get around, but come prepared with a shovel in case you get stuck on a drift. Because minimums on much of the lake are still in the 11.75 to 14 inch range, we recommend those pulling tandem wheel houses with trucks to stay on the thicker ice like Waconia Bay or Wagener’s Bay where it’s 16 to 20 inches.

If you want to go off the beaten path, keep in mind we don’t plow roads to many of the areas to the east and north. Also, as we’ve mentioned in previous posts, pay attention for the active springs we have marked with lath board and flagging tape and give them room.

As always, we can never guarantee ice. If you use our access it is drive at your own risk. We currently like the condition of the ice and do our best to check and report what we find throughout the season, but can’t cover it all.

Access rates are $5 per vehicle on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. It’s $3 per vehicle Monday through Thursday. If you plan to use the access a lot for the rest of February, a Winter Season Pass is $35. The pass is good until March 1st, weather and ice permitting.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina on Lake Waconia - Fish House Rentals available for Super Bowl Sunday!

We still have some availability for Super Bowl Sunday in the afternoon for Fish House rentals! Watch the Super Bowl in one of our new 8' x 16' Ice Castles that are equipped with a 32 inch TV. Price is $239 for 7 hours from either 3 pm to 10 pm or 4 pm to 11 pm. We drill the holes and the the heat is on and comfortable when you arrive! Call (952) 442-2096 to reserve. Check out the video below to see what they look like...

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 2/2/21 - Comprehensive list of spring locations and information

Today’s post is about springs on Lake Waconia. We recently marked 3 more active springs on the lake with lath board and flagging tape. This now brings us to 8 springs we have marked in the 2020/2021 winter season. The newly marked springs are located a couple hundred yards south of North Reef, on the southeast side of Kegs Reef, and south of Red’s Reef.

First things first, we aren’t sure if these are technically freshwater springs that are affecting the ice. It could possibly only be trapped gasses such as methane, or it’s a combination of a freshwater spring with gasses. For the purposes of our reports, we refer to them as springs. Regardless of what they are technically called, we have noticed these every year and do what we can to inform you. The information about springs we provide is giving the best representation of where they are located. We will not be posting screenshots of maps for copyright reasons, as well as the fact intensities of springs on the lake can change at any time. Thankfully this winter, the springs seem less active and are therefore smaller right now. Below is a listing of coordinates that can be used to help avoid them, but due to GPS variances is NOT a perfect pinpoint indicator. When we search for these springs each year, we use our coordinates as a guide to get us very close to where we expect the springs to be (as they seem to always be in the same general areas) and then actively chisel the area until we find and mark them. Some years they are easier to spot, due to clear ice and no snow being present. This year is not one of those years.

Keep in mind, the listing of spring coordinates below is NOT a complete list. We do not claim to have found every spring on Lake Waconia. However, we have noticed historically that the coordinates given have been the most active areas. If you see our markings, we recommend giving them plenty of space as spring activity can fluctuate over the course of the season. This is also why we always recommend doing your own checking, especially if you plan to go well off the beaten path.

Here’s the list of active springs we have marked this year in order of most to least active…

1. E. of Cemetery Reef: 44° 51.586’ N 93° 46.474’ W

2. W. of Anderson’s Reef: 44° 51.673’ N 93° 46.263’ W

3. S. of Reinke’s Reef: 44° 52.660’ N 93° 46.246’ W

4. N. of Red’s Reef: 44° 52.460’ N 93° 46.230’ W

5. Between Keg’s & NW Side of Island: 44° 51.987’ N 93° 47.241’ W

6. S. of North Reef: 44° 52.351’ N 93° 47.113’ W

7. SE Side of Keg’s Reef: 44° 52.136’ N 93° 46.939’ W

8. S. of Red’s Reef: 44° 52.044’ N 93° 46.346’ W


This is a list of springs that have been active in the past, but seem inactive now or have not been found by us and are therefore not marked…

1. East of Island: 44° 51.651’ N 93° 46.567’ W

2. East of Island: 44° 51.639’ N 93° 46.567’ W

3. Between Wagener’s Bay Access and Rock Dock: 44° 51.608’ N 93° 48.159’ W

4. N. Side of Wagener’s Hole by Pillsbury: 44° 51.962’ N 93° 48.240’ W

5. Between Keg’s & NW Side of Island: 44° 51.940’ N 93° 47.225’ W

6. N. of NE Side of Island: 44° 51.832’ N 93° 47.146’ W

7. SW of North Reef: 44° 52.334’ N 93° 47.298’ W