In the video we posted, you'll notice some cars or trucks and tandem fish houses on the ice. Those vehicles used the small city access in Wagener's Bay. At this time, we are still only allowing ATV, Side-by-Side and single-axle fish houses through our access. We are still not recommending driving as the ice includes frozen slush on top and is not as strong because of that. Also, the weight of the existing snow diminishes the strength of the ice when under stress of the extra load as evidenced by the flooding in many areas across the lake.
As for ice thickness, not much has changed since our last report. Some of the areas we reported to be as little as 9 inches are now about 10 inches. We drilled 60 to 70 holes in locations most people are frequenting such as Waconia Bay, Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener’s Bay. Most of the holes we drilled were between 11 to 12.5 inches. The most we found was 13.75 inches in a well-traveled area. All of the thicknesses reported include frozen slush ice on top.
We will update mid-to-late week with lake ice conditions after the winter storm passes. In the meantime, pay attention to you or your buddy’s fish house in the coming days. Good luck and we’ll see you on the ice!
