We look forward to opening this winter for the ice fishing season and will announce those hours at a later date. If you are interested in fish house rentals we will begin taking reservations when we open for the winter season.
Have a fantastic fall!
Good morning,
We shifted the cones at the access this morning. For now, please come straight down the middle of the cones.
Drive extra slow both on and off the lake to help us keep the access open as long as possible for everyone working to get their permanent houses off Lake Waconia.
With the current warm temperatures, possible rain, and strong winds forecast for Tuesday (2/17), we strongly recommend that all permanent houses be removed from the lake as soon as possible.
We will be physically blocking the access at 5:00 PM tonight. Please plan to be off the lake before then if you intend to use our access. After 5:00 PM, the access will be closed to all car, truck, and permanent fish house traffic and will remain closed until conditions improve significantly.
Good luck
PS - We still have Small Shiners, Big Fatheads, large crappie minnows, and small crappie minnows.
Our access is holding up for today! We are not allowing houses to go on the lake through our access anymore but you can use our access to pull your house off today 2/14 and tomorrow morning 2/15.
Houses have been leaving the lake continuously all day. We absolutely recommend removing your house and not leaving it out past Sunday. With rain and high winds forecasted for Tuesday and Wednesday people will have problems around houses. Water will be draining and swirling and then holes will open up especially around the remaining houses.
We still plan on closing our access entirely to truck and permanent fish house removal at some point Sunday 2/15 at noon or as late as 5PM depending on conditions. We are hoping to be able to open our access to vehicle and Permanent fish house traffic next weekend if things heal up at our access. We will keep you updated.
See you on the Ice!
IMPORTANT MESSAGE: With the warm weather and worsening access conditions we are no longer allowing permanent fish houses to be brought onto the lake through our access. This decision is being made to preserve the access for those who still need to remove fish houses that are already on the ice.
Our access will be closed (physically blocked) to all vehicle and permanent Fish house traffic sometime between Noon and 5PM on Sunday 2/15 (or sometime Saturday 2/14 if the access diminishes even faster) so plan on removing your house from the lake by then or earlier if you want to use our access.
We will have an area for ATV, Side by Side and people walking to access the lake.
If you insist on leaving your Permanent house out on the ice beyond this weekend, check on it daily. Look for water draining under or around your house. The rain and wind predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday will make conditions even worse.
We are hopeful that cooler temperatures later next week may allow the access to recover and reopen for normal use, but we will need to evaluate conditions at that time before deciding.
See you on the ice!
Even Thicker! Avery went out today to see how much ice we have made since our last update on 1/22. He drilled about 20 holes between In Towne Marina and the Center reef area. In that stretch he was finding 19.5 to 20 inches of thickness in the clear black ice where there was no snow. Where he checked in drifts of snow around fish house groups he measured 18 to 18.5 inches of ice. The area south of Coney island that we have been checking on has grown to 16 plus inches since our last check on 1/22 so that ice is catching up nicely.
Getting around on the lake is easy right now as most areas are blown clean of snow when moving between spots. It's pretty easy to avoid the deeper drifts in groups of fish houses and areas where fish houses vacated leaving their old banks and drifts.
We are allowing up to 28' tandem Wheel House now with up to 1 ton Pickups or smaller vehicles. Remember to always check ahead of yourself when heading off in your own direction.
See you on the ice!
In the last couple of cold days we have seen some good ice growth! Today (1/20/26) Ben drilled about 40 holes between the marina and Center reef area. When drilling in black clear ice spots he was finding 16 to 17 inches commonly. Where slush ice is layered on top it was thicker. The area on the south side of Coney Island that was 13.5 inches on 1/18 measured just over 14 inches today. That area by the island is the thinnest ice Ben is aware of on Lake Waconia other than around the springs.
We are allowing vehicles up to 1/2 ton trucks with reasonable sized tandem houses OR 1 ton or smaller trucks and vehicles with single axle houses on through our access at this time now.
On Thursday 1/22 we will let you know if we will be allowing big trucks with big houses.
See you on the ice!
Ben went out to see how much ice we have grown in the last 2 days. He checked on spots along where the road normally is on the way to Center Reef. He found we have grown about 1/2 to 3/4 inch since the last report on 1/16. Ben drilled where there was no or minimal slush ice and found 14.5 to 16.5 inches. Where Slush ice is layered on top you can find more thickness. The spot south of Coney Island that had 13 Inches on 1/16 grew to 13.5 as of today (he was expecting more).
Half Ton Pick-ups with Single Axle Houses are still what we are allowing. If you have a capable ATV or Side by side and dolly to pull it, we will allow reasonable sized tandem houses to go on through here. FYI there is a bit of a hill as you approach the ice at our landing. Please do NOT drive on the ice with a truck and Tandem House yet, even to just unhook. We are allowing up to 1 ton trucks including unloaded Diesel's with NO houses behind them on through our access as well.
We want another 1.5 inches of ice (on the low end of thickness) before we are comfortable allowing the bigger houses behind trucks! We will allow Tandems behind pickups through our access when the 14.5 to 16.5 inches turns into 16 to 18 plus inches.
See you on the ice!
Ice is growing and the wind is blowing! Today (Friday 1/16) Ben drilled many holes in the same areas he did on 1/14. Common ice thickness where he drilled today was 14 to 16 inches with 15 inches being the most common. Ben concentrated on checking where it was black ice. if you drill in the slush ice you will see more overall thickness in spots where the slush ice adds to the black ice thickness. On the south side of Coney Island, Ben found 13 inches of ice where it had been 12 inches on 1/14. This area by the island has the thinnest ice we are aware of at 13 inches other than where the springs are.
It is incredibly windy right now (3 PM) Visibility is low and the wind is supposed to keep blowing hard through Sunday and pretty hard into Monday. Drifts are already forming around existing houses so those people will have some banking snow to work with.
There are no established roads on Lake Waconia because there wasn't enough ice to plow when we had snow and because of the warm up there wasn't any snow left when we had enough ice for the plow truck. Now with the fresh snow flying in this wind we will not be doing any major plowing to establish a road until the extreme wind lays down likely after the weekend.
Half Ton Pick-ups with Single Axle Houses are still what we are allowing. If you have a capable ATV or Side by side and dolly to pull it, we will allow reasonable sized tandem houses to go on through here. FYI there is a bit of a hill as you approach the ice at our landing. Please do NOT drive on the ice with a truck and Tandem House yet, even to just unhook. We are allowing up to 1 ton trucks including unloaded Diesel's with NO houses behind them on through our access as well.
Tomorrow, Saturday, 1/17 there is a fishing tournament put on by the Future Flames Committee and benefitting the First Lutheran School of Glencoe. Check out this link for more information...
Fishing Contest LinkOur Access and Lake Waconia in general are pretty wet again. After the overnight rain and mild temperatures we are not allowing permanent fish houses on through our access. ATVs and Side by sides will be allowed for now.
We will let you know when things firm up enough to be able to go out with more than just machines.
In Towne Marina Rental Fish Houses are out on Lake Waconia!
Avery just placed both of our 6 hole, 7x14 Rental Fish Houses out front in Waconia Bay. They will be within easy walking distance (200 yards or so) from our access (we are not driving cars and trucks on the ice yet). There are Sunfish, Northern Pike and a few Crappies in the area. Give us a call if you have the itch to get out!
Click Here for Prices & Policies
Happy Saturday! After another cold night, our access has improved enough to allow single-axle wheelhouses to be pulled behind ATVs or side-by-sides. We are still not allowing cars or trucks through our access while it continues to heal. We are also not recommending truck traffic through any access on the lake, as ice thickness under the snow is commonly 10–11 inches. Ice where there is no snow is commonly 12 to 13 inches.
If you choose to pull a wheelhouse out through us, please go slow, as a portion of the access remains blocked off and is still healing. With mild weather forecasted for the coming week, ice thickness is expected to hold steady, so please don’t expect any significant changes in what we can allow in the near future.
Avery just got back from doing an ice check. He drilled more than 50 holes over several areas. He drilled around Waconia Bay, The Walleye hump/hole, South side of Cemetery Reef, South side of Coney Island, Under the Wires, Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef, Wagener's Bay. In the snow he was finding 10 to 11 inches of ice. Slush is still under the the deepest banks of snow. 12 inches of good ice is common where there is no or very little snow. Some areas had more than 12 inches of ice if you count frozen slush on top.
As of today 1/2/26 we are still ONLY allowing walking, Snowmobiles, ATVs and Side by Sides through our access. We are sad to say that the slush pocket on our frontage is not solid. We are still NOT allowing permanent houses on through our landing because of the spot that needs to heal directly in front of us. We will update you on any changes at our access ASAP!
As of this morning 1/2/26 we are still ONLY allowing walking, Snowmobiles, ATVs and Side by Sides through our access. We are sad to say that the slush pocket on our frontage is not solid. We are still NOT allowing permanent houses on through our landing because of the spot that needs to heal directly in front of us. We will update you on any changes ASAP!
We are finally allowing ATVs and Sides by sides through our access again. We are not allowing fish houses through our access yet because the slush on our immediate frontage needs more time to freeze solid. Please check our update from the 30th for more general info. We will update ASAP when we can allow houses!