Lake Waconia Ice Report - 12-17-14

We spent a full day on the ice today (12/17) to get you the current conditions across the lake. Not surprisingly, the warm weekend of 50 degrees and rain did affect the thickness of the ice.  In a lot of areas we lost between 1 to 2 inches of ice from our previous report last week.  Despite the warm-up, we are still very happy with the condition of the ice.  We felt comfortable on 4-wheelers while doing this ice check.  We drilled hundreds of holes today, but keep in mind, we cannot cover 3000 acres in it’s entirety.  That is why we always recommend checking ice yourself if you’re going to an area away from the larger groups.

Here’s what we found where we checked…

-Waconia Bay is now around 8 to 10 inches, with 6 to 7 in the old goose hole. 

-“Under the Wires” was mostly 6 to 8 inches, but we found as little as 4 to 5 inches a little further north.

-Center Reef was a lot of 7 to 8 inches, with as little as 6 and as much as 11 inches.

-Pillsbury Reef had 8 to 11 inches.

-North Center and Nelson’s Flats was generally 7 to 9 inches.

-North Reef had the largest area of variance.  We found as little as 4.25 inches on top of the reef, and several holes between 5 to 6, with some as much as 8 to 9 inches.

-Kegs Reef varied quite a bit too.  We found as little as 5.5 inches, but up to 9 as well.

-Anderson’s Reef was mostly 6 to 8 inches of ice.

-Cemetery Reef had the majority of ice between 6 to 7 inches, but as much as 9.

-The southeast side of the island had a large area of 5 to 6 inches, but the east side of the island had 7 to 9 inches.

-The walleye hole between the marinas had 7.5 to 9.5 inches.

We also went looking for a couple of the springs that have been active in recent history.  We did find the main one that has been the largest over the years, and it was mildly active.  It’s located in the deep water between Cemetery and Anderson’s Reefs and is now marked with lath board and flagging tape.  Thankfully it’s much smaller than the past, but we will be keeping an eye on it.  We are happy it’s not very active, as that may be a sign that some of the other smaller springs that we’ve noticed in previous years might not be an issue this winter.

If you’ve been following our ice updates this winter, you may notice in the above report that most of the areas that froze last, like North, Kegs, Anderson’s and Cemetery, have less ice and are more varied.

So, what does this all mean?  This week and weekend, we feel comfortable with anglers getting out on the lake with ATV’s and Snowmobiles and lighter-weight skid and wheel fish houses through our access.  We will not be allowing cars, trucks or heavy fish houses through our access until further notice.  Don’t forget, our daily access fee is $1 for walking, $2 for ATV or Snowmobiles, and $25 for the winter season.

We look forward to seeing you on the ice!

Lake Waconia Ice & Fishing Report - 12/9/14

We did a more extensive ice check on Tuesday, 12/9, drilling and checking over 200 holes.  We covered Waconia Bay, "Under the Wires", Center, Pillsbury and Wagener's Bay, as these areas are currently the most used fishing spots on the lake.  It's important to know that we are always looking for the worst ice we can find, therefore the majority of our drilling is in snow-covered ice, which is generally less than the clear "black" ice.

We started in Waconia Bay, and found a lot of 8 to 10 inches, with a top-end of 12 inches in the clear, snow-less ice.  Then continued on to "Under the wires" (between the south peninsula of the Lakeview Terrace and the island), where there was as little as 7 inches of ice under snow drifts and up to 11 inches of ice where there was no snow.  A little north of "Under the Wires" was a small area of 4.25 to 5 inches which was the worst ice found of the day.  As you continue even further north of that, the ice got very jagged (where the wind broke up chunks while the ice formed, which froze in a jagged manner creating sharp pointed edges).  A lot of that jagged ice was around 6.5 to 8 inches.  These locations are northwest of the island, but east of where our road usually goes to Center, which gives you reference for the future.

We then headed a little west on the way to Harms Point to the area we usually have a road, and found a lot of 8 to 10 inches with a little bit of 7 inches mixed in.  From there we went north to Center Reef and had a variety of ice there as well.  We could drill in one popular location and find a spot with as little as 6 inches, and 10 feet away measure a hole in clear, snow-free ice that was up to a 12 inches.

If you're sensing a theme, you are right.  It didn't matter where we went today, the ice greatly varied.  It's easy to get excited when you see 10 to 12 inches of ice in locations you want to get to.  We are excited to see those thicknesses too, but it was clear to us today, that most areas with those thicknesses also had plenty of ice mixed in between 6.5 to 9 inches as well.

Pillsbury was much the same.  There are certainly plenty of locations there that had 9 to 12 inches, but had 7 to 8 mixed in.  We went from Pillsbury to the south toward the Wagener's Bay access.  We drilled in several locations where snowmobiles and 4-wheelers have made tracks going to and from those locations. Where there was little-to-no snow, we found 10 to 12 inches of ice.  The closer we got to the terrace, there was more drifting of snow, so as you can expect, there was a lot of 7 to 9 inches of ice (with as little as 6.25 inches found 40 feet from shore).

We are very happy we have ice that we can use to 4-wheel and snowmobile on.  While it's tempting for some to want to drive your car or truck out there, we are not recommending it and won't be allowing vehicles through our access for the time being.  No one wants driveable ice more than we do at the marina, but we will continue to be patient and wait for the ice to get a little thicker before we drive.

In the mean time, we'll keep you posted on the ice as the warmth of the weekend draws near.  If you have a permanent fish house on the lake, it would be a good idea to keep a close eye on it this weekend.

As for the bite, it was a good weekend for northern pike fishing for those who took advantage of the mild weather.  The pic of the weekend was by twins Connor and Tanner Besse who each had a nice northern and won prizes playing our FREE Ice and Dice game.  Waconia Bay was a good location for some of this action.  Walleyes were also decent as well.  We had some keepers over 16 inches caught from the walleye hole between the marinas, as well as Waconia Bay and parts of Center.  Sunfish and crappies continue to bite, although as expected, sorting needs to happen to get keepers.  Pillsbury is a great go-to spot for panfish as well.

Happy fishing!

Lake Waconia Ice and Fishing Report 12-4-14

We did another ice check yesterday afternoon and continued to see ice thicknesses increasing.  Most of the main areas anglers like to target early season are in great shape.  Waconia Bay has between 7 to 9.5 inches (with a small marked area of 5.5 inches).  The walleye hole between the marinas has ice around 6 to 9 inches.  Ice out towards the Deep hole in Wagener’s Bay and Pillsbury is between 7.5 to 9.5 inches.

We continued our check north of “Under the Wires” between the west end of the island and Lakeview Terrace.  While the ice has grown there too, we still found some spots in that area with as little as 4 inches and up to 7.5 inches.  

We headed to Cemetery as well to get a better feel for the varying ice there, and found anywhere from 5 to 8.5 inches.  The newest ice which formed over part of Cemetery and a little east has caught up nicely, however we have not been out to Anderson’s, Reds or Kegs.  We haven’t assessed if the springs from past years in the 25 to 30 foot areas in the east-central part of the lake are active yet, so keep that in mind if heading that way.

As far as fishing goes, we’ve had some reports of successful sunfish and crappie action off the weedlines of Pillsbury as well as Waconia Bay in 11 to 14 feet of water.  Walleyes have been decent between the marinas in the walleye hole.  Most of the successful bites have been on the north side of the hole as depths climb in the 13 to 15 foot range.  Jigging with fatheads has been working, as well as set-lines with shiners.

With the warm up coming this weekend, it’s a great time to get some sucker minnows and set a tip up or two!  We expect a good northern pike bite for those interested.  Our big fish of the season so far was weighed in at 9 pound 12 oz. pike on Tuesday  by Bob Leistiko.

We hope to see you at the lake!

Lake Waconia Ice Update 11/28/14

We took another ice walk today, and thanks to the extreme cold over Thanksgiving, we were pleasantly surprised with the growth of the ice over the past few days.  We found between 4.5 to 6 inches around the “Walleye Hole” between the marinas.  We headed out to Cemetery, where there is a crack/ridge that goes over the center of the reef and heads toward the east point of the island.  West of the crack (on the west edge of Cemetery) you can expect to find 4 to 5 inches of ice.  East of the crack (which includes the east side AND south point of Cemetery) will be newer, thinner ice in the 2.5 to 3 inch range. That newer, lesser ice extends east toward Anderson’s and north toward Reds, so we advise using extreme caution if you plan on trying those areas.

We continued our walk along the south side of the island where we found 5 to 8 inches of ice.  As we got to “Under the Wires” which is between the island and Lakeview Terrace, we found bumpy ice that was between 4.5 to 6 inches.  We advise using extreme caution if you head north past “Under the Wires”, because that is also where the freshest, thinnest ice continues.  We found 2.5 to 3 inches in that area, which extends toward North Center to the north, and northeast toward Kegs Reef.

As far as Waconia Bay is concerned, we are very happy with the ice, with the exception of the goose hole (which froze last).  Most of Waconia Bay is between 5 to 8 inches.  The goose hole (which is marked with lath board and caution tape) was as little as 2.5 inches.

All in all, the lake ice is improving.  We are seeing anglers get their first taste of Lake Waconia fishing action. We’re excited to hear all your fishing stories!

Don’t forget, we will have temporary hours of 9 am to 5 pm for the time being.  We’ll be extending our hours in the future as the ice thickens.  We are selling Season Passes for lake access again for $25 for the season.   Daily access is $1 for walking out ($2 for driving when we open it up for vehicle traffic in the future).

Stop in and say hi!  We'd love to see you!

Lake Waconia Ice Report - 11/26/14

We look forward to seeing you, as we open for the winter season this Friday, 11/28 from  9 am to 5 pm!  We have a GREAT “Black Friday” special on an Apache Ice Combo, spooled with 6# test for $8.99!

We took our first ice walk of the season to parts of the lake on Tuesday afternoon, 11/25.  We found was ice that varied by several inches everywhere we went.  In Waconia Bay, we found as little as 1.5 inches in a small area that finally froze over late due to birds keeping it open.  We found the majority in Waconia Bay between 3.5 to 6.5 inches.  As we headed toward the “walleye hole” between the marinas, we found a lot of 3 to 4 inches with some as much as 6.  We were not able to make it out to Cemetery Reef or beyond to the east, because that area had even less ice, as it was one of the last areas to freeze. 

We also went to Wagener’s Bay for a quick check, and found anywhere from 3.5 to 7 inches in the holes we punched, so that does vary a lot too.  It’s important to know that the last areas to freeze were near North Center, Kegs, Reds, Anderson’s and Cemetery, so those will have the least ice. 

Remember, we can’t cover every area, and it’s possible to find less ice in areas we have checked.  We highly recommend you use caution your first time out.  Chisel ahead of yourself, and drill numerous holes to get a feel for the ice.  Now that we have an extra 2 to 3 inches of snow due to today’s (11/26) snowfall, it will take a little longer for the ice to thicken because of the snow’s insulating factor.

Be safe this Thanksgiving!  We are thankful for your business and look forward to a great ice fishing season!

Opening for the Winter on "Black Friday" 11/28/14

We will be opening for the winter season on “Black Friday” November 28^th with temporary hours of 9 am to 5 pm.  Thanks to an unseasonably cold November, the ice fishing season has arrived earlier than usual!

Although it’s been extremely chilly of late, it’s important to know that Lake Waconia does still have some areas of open water that were kept open by heavy wind and birds.  On Thursday, 11/20, we estimated that around 40% of the lake still had open water over North Center, Kegs, Reds, Reinke’s, Anderson’s and Cemetery Reefs. By Friday, 11/21 there was a thin glaze on most those areas.  There is potential for these glazed areas to open back up with predicted weekend weather above 32 degrees and rain/snow with strong winds on Monday.

There is also a small area of open water in Waconia Bay near popular early-season fishing locations (Birds are keeping this spot open).    We have not done an ice thickness check, but will be doing one next week before we open for the season.  Check here for future updates.

We look forward to seeing you!

Nickle Dickle Day is coming this weekend. Come join us!

Don't miss out on our Free Kid's Fishing Prize Pond on Nickle Dickle Day (this Saturday, 9/13). Kids 12 and under can "fish" for a free prize from 10:30 am to 12:30 pm. We have specials in the store for this weekend, which include 25% off our existing stock of Rods and Combos. We also have a special early buy on an Ice Combo worth checking out! While here, enter into our drawing for a FREE Weekday Fish House Rental (7' x 14', 6-hole Fish House for 6 hours, valued at $89) for this winter! We hope to see you!