So far Ben has focused his ice check along the weedline of Waconia Bay, to the walleye hump/hole and on the way towards Center Reef where a future road would be. With the recent melting of snow and rain, we did gain some ice on the surface once the standing water froze up, so some of the new numbers surprised us a bit. Keep in mind, these numbers are not all clear/black ice. He found the ice along the Waconia Bay weedline to be 12.5 to 15.5 inches of ice. By the walleye hump/hole, he was finding 12 to 15 inches (commonly 13 to 13.5), with rutted ice being common. On the way towards Center reef the ice gets rougher yet in spots with more frozen ruts and scattered old hard snow. Because of that old snow and ruts, he found as little as 11 inches, with occasional layering in isolated spots. Ben continued on to Center Reef, Pillsbury Reef and Wagener's Bay. The ice in those locations was between 12 to 15 inches, with the common ice again being around 13 to 13.5 inches. Center, Pillsbury and Wagener's Bay have plenty of rutted ice, so again, try to stay on more smooth ice if driving. It's especially rutted going from the Wagener's Bay access to Harm's Point.
**5 PM UPDATE
Ben went back out after lunch to cover more ice. First he checked on the way to and on top of Cemetery Reef and found 12 to 15 inches. He headed to the East side of the island and found 13 to 15 inches. Shooting west from there in front of the island 12 to 13 inches was common. From the West side of the Island and towards the East part of Center Reef it was more of the 12.5 to 15 inches where he drilled. Ben headed to the South side of Kegs Reef and then ran up the reef and drilled around North Reef and further. He then shot west towards Nelsons Flats and drilled several holes. In that stretch from Keg's to Nelson's he measured 12 to 15 inches of ice. From Nelson's Flats area he decided to double back and check out Red's Reef and more. He drilled on and around Red's, over towards the Clay Banks, and headed to Anderson's Reef, then "The Beach" weed edge and then back to the marina. In that long stretch he drilled frequently and found 11.5 to 15 inches.
13 to 13.5 inches was by far the most common thickness found today. Some layered ice remains under some of the biggest old hard snow drifts found all over the lake. Those drifts can be avoided pretty easily. Don't forget to look out for the springs marked publicly on Navionics or physically marked by us with lath boards and flagging tape around the lake.
As usual always check ahead of yourself when heading off the beaten path. We can't check all the ice on the lake but as long as people don't push it too far we feel good about how things looked out there today.
The Lake is back to being very slippery again. Don't forget your ice cleats and whether driving or walking, take it SLOW.
We'll see you on the ice!
