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!
