In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 2/26/24 - Our Bait Shop and Access are now CLOSED for the winter season...

Our bait shop and access are now closed for the winter season. While the ice is currently usable in many locations, the shallower water in the bays have weak ice due to warm weather and sunshine. Also, on top of shallow reefs like parts of Center and Pillsbury Reefs, expect weak ice due to the solar effect (since there is no snow to reflect the sun). The local warden updated us that someone on foot broke through the ice in shallow water late yesterday deep in Waconia Bay and thankfully got out fine. With freezing weather coming for 2 days starting tomorrow, things will improve only temporarily. However, with sunshine all week and record temperatures coming by the weekend, ice conditions will be drastically different soon.

We appreciate everyone who supported us during this short, unusual winter!

Thank You,

The Mase Family

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Report - 2/23/24

Avery took a quick walk on our frontage today, Friday, 2/23/24 to see what the past two days of sunny, warm weather has done to the ice. The main difference from our report on Monday is that 99% of the snow is gone on the lake. The ice itself hasn’t lost any thickness. You can refer to our last report for previous measurements. It got cold enough last night to freeze the melted snow, so conditions are firm, but very slippery today.

We will continue to allow ATV’s and Side-by-Sides through our access, but with portables only. Sorry no skid or wheel houses. We may decide shut the access down to walking only as temps warm up this weekend. We’ll let you know if that happens.

As a reminder, this Sunday 2/25/24 will be our last day open for this winter season. The gamefish season also closes at the end of day Sunday. If you’re looking to get your 2024 fishing license, our machine is still down, so you’ll have to get that elsewhere. Your 2023 license is still valid through 2/29/24.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia Ice Update - 2/19/24 - Bait shop is opening back up on Wednesday 2/21/24 at 10 am...

Today, 2/19/24, Avery walked out from the marina and as far out as Center Reef to check on Lake Waconia’s ice situation. Things have noticeably improved, perhaps for the final time of the 2023/24 winter season. The change from our last report to now is clear. Thanks to the cold/driving weekend winds, the water/slush we talked about under the snow has mostly frozen, making walking very easy with good traction. Avery found thicknesses as little as 6 inches, but as much as 11. Most of the hundreds of holes he drilled were between 8 to 9 inches of ice. Keep in mind, this ice isn’t as strong as early season fresh ice, but the current condition of the ice is better quality now than a week or two ago.

With today’s good news, we will be opening our bait shop again starting Wednesday, 2/21/24 and will be open through Sunday, 2/25/24. Hours Wednesday, Thursday and Friday are 10 am to 5 pm. Saturday and Sunday we’ll be here from 9 am to 5 pm. Keep in mind, Gamefish season ends after Sunday, 2/25/24.

Our access is open now for use. ATV’s and Side-by-sides will be allowed, but with portables only. Sorry, no permanent houses. After this weekend, we will likely be closed for the remainder of the season, as the forecast doesn’t look kind for good ice in the future.

One more note: Our license terminal is down, so we won't have fishing licenses available to purchase.

We’ll see you on the ice!

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia - Bait Shop and Access remains closed

 

This morning 2/16/2024 Avery did an ice check on our immediate frontage, over to the walleye hole and just into Waconia Bay.  With the recent snow the ice conditions have not improved. Finding thicknesses of 4 to 10 inches of ice, with the weight of the snow stressing on the diminished ice there is water coming up in most areas making walking somewhat difficult in slushy stretches.  During the warm spell before the snow there were many areas where drain holes or old fishing holes never froze. Those spots are creating flooded areas, some of those areas are VERY flooded with several inches of water under the snow.

Due to these conditions our bait shop will remain closed for the foreseeable future.  Our access will stay closed for all use until the ice and lake situation improves. We will do another check early next week and post access and lake condition updates then.

 

This winter will most certainly be a winter we will never forget.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia - Bait Shop and Access is temporarily closed

Our bait shop will remain closed through at least Thursday, February 15th. Our access will also be closed as conditions have impacted our frontage and we need to see it improve before opening it back up. We will update late next week when we know more.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia - We remain temporarily closed through at least Friday

We remain temporarily closed through Friday, February 9th due to the warmer weather. We will update possible weekend hours some time on Friday depending on ice conditions.

In Towne Marina Lake Waconia - This weekend's hours update and closed from 2/5/24 to 2/7/24

Reminder- On Saturday 2/3, we will be open from 1 pm to 5 pm. On Sunday 2/4 we will be open from 10 am to 5 pm. Currently, we are only allowing walking with portables through our access. Sorry no Side-by-sides, ATV’s or snowmobiles.

Due to weather and ice conditions, our bait shop will be closed Monday 2/5 thru Wednesday 2/7. If conditions allow decent lake usage, we will post bait shop hours mid-week for Thursday 2/8 thru that weekend.

Thanks,

The Mases