Long term forecast starting around January 20 has a few weeks of real cold night temperatures. If so, we might get an ice fishing season this year. Too early to know for sure, but at least the forecast is there instead of 40 degrees and rain. :-)
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Long term forecast starting around January 20 has a few weeks of real cold night temperatures. If so, we might get an ice fishing season this year. Too early to know for sure, but at least the forecast is there instead of 40 degrees and rain. :-)
Ice is forming on some near shore Lake areas, but the forecast has warmed a bit this coming week with two big wind events (Monday night / Tuesday morning, same Wednesday/Thursday). Even if ice does start to form, the wind events will probably break it up and move it around, making any ice thick enough to get on unsafe. Looks like the ice fishing folks will have to wait a week to see the early February forecast.
Any thoughts on if the ice will get there or not?
With the temps next week, I think safe ice is coming.Quote:
Originally Posted by Rog87
YES. I am NOT an experienced Lake Erie ice guy, or ice fishing. That said, the temperatures the next 10 days are forecast real cold, with some single digit nights and one single digit day. That's going to form a lot of ice and ice thickness. BUT - we have two big wind events the next few days, today and Thursday. Most of the ice that has already formed has been broken up and moved around by wind. So the question probably isn't going to be if we get real solid ice. The question is propably going to be access. All that jumbled up ice pieces will be a chore to travel on, around, and over. You'll probably have to get out aways to find newer smoother ice. Some of the locals on here can post what they see. Webcams in most places show ice made of frozen ice pieces / chunks. Not as safe and not nearly as easy to travel on as nice calm wind real cold temperature ice formation.
It's started, at least at Put-in-Bay Harbor. One shanty and one person ice fishing 200-300 feet off the docks (near the Crews Nest). Now it's probably just a matter of someone, hopefully experinced locals, to check out the ice where they can get good access and a good path out.
Guys went out of Catawba today. About a dozen trucks in the lot. Don't know how far the rest got, but could see 2 guys at least 1/2 mile out towards pt. Clinton.
If its good ice would love to go out of wild wings Saturday. Kinda new to the whole ice fishing thing so any advice/tips would be great. And if anyone else is thinking the same I’d love to tag along and learn. Got my own equipment, and your bar tabs on me afterwards.
As expected the winds today broke off the main sheet of ice off Catawba. Looking like heading out this weekend is out of the question, but I'm still hopeful for late next week.
Personally I’m a crappie guy. This season has turned out to be the best ice season I can remember. Both for numbers and size. Have even caught a few bonus walleyes. I have been fishing shallower than I usually do this time of year (last year college took much time - I'd have better used https://www.topwritersreview.com/reviews/wisеessays/). One of the highly pressured lakes I fish I have noticed the crappies are not biting in the community holes like usual. The afternoon bite has been much better than the night bite, which is opposite compared to most years. This is perfect because the wheelhouse guys stay parked over the negative fish.
Yep, wind shifted around to the south south east today and is moving ice around. SW high winds through Saturday morning forecast. NOAA:
"TONIGHT...South winds 15 to 25 knots becoming southwest to
30 knots. Snow and rain showers.
.FRIDAY...Southwest gales to 35 knots becoming west. Mostly
cloudy.
.FRIDAY NIGHT...West winds to 30 knots diminishing to 15 to
25 knots. Mostly cloudy. "
That ought to mess everything up pretty well.
We'll have to see how the calmer winds and real cold temps ice up the Lake next week.
Took a look around the Internet for Lake Erie ice fishing info. Not much being posted. From what the webcams show and the few posts I read, the ice has moved around and been packed in at places, with some open water here and there. Hardly anyone out except in Put-in-Bay Harbor. Looks like we'll have to wait for this coming week's real cold temps and not so much wind and see what the ice conditions are come Wednesday through next weekend. The pack ice / jumbled up ice that is already there isn't going to change, so travel conditions will be tough when ice fishing does start, except out on the newer ice.
Current forecast through Sunday, from Accuweather and iwindsurf, for Port Clinton:
Temperature, day / night wind direction / speed mph(ave)
Tue 24 / 13 NNW / 7
Wed 21 / 14 NW-NE / 6
Thur 23 / 17 NE / 12
Fri 20 / 11 E / 18
Sat 16 / 0 E / 18
Sun 22 / -1 WSW / 25
Looks like plenty of cold temps and light winds through Thursday. Then deep freeze Friday through Sunday but with higher winds. Ice fishing most likely yes if you can get out through the pack ice. Weekend will be wind chill bone chilling cold if you do go.
I looked at the camera this eve the view from miller ferry at put in bay one snowmobile running out in front of the board walk to some shanties so there is some brave souls out there but its way to cold for me if you do go stay safe and let us know how you do
This post was on Facebook from Josh Prephan:
First hand report for those wondering how the ice conditions are out of Catawba. We took a sled and atv out and followed another atv and sled. We headed west till we got to the trail going through the shove ice. Stopped where it started to clear up and was sitting on 15” of ice. Fished for an hour with few marks and no fish and decided to head north. Got about 300 yards from where we were and found ourselves on 2” of ice and quickly turned around. I also had a buddy out there today that saw a snowmobile go through and lost everything. If you’re thinking about going out this weekend I would strongly reconsider. I also have yet to hear of a walleye caught out of Catawba. Tight lines everyone
OK. Very few first hand or reliable second hand (person was certain of info) ice fishing reports. Anyone know why? Is there just very little activity? Is nobody with information posting it? Locals have to know the story, so why aren't we hearing much?
Cold temps have produced plent of ice. But has the wind the last rew weeks conbined with the snowfall made it too dangerous to go out very far and only in a few locations? Ice shove ridges and deep snow making it too difficult to travel on the ice? I know the deep snow insulates the ice from the real cold temps, diminishing the amount of new ice added to the thickness. Plus it covers up danger spots and cracks. Warmer weather starts next week (daytime temps in the mid 30's) so this coming weekend and early next week may be all we have left. If anyone can and will add some reliable information here, it would help a lot of people decide whether to go out or not this week and this coming weekend.
air boats broke through 300 yards off shore couple days ago at wards canal they turned around and came back but it was -10 with calm winds last night
Got some reliable information. Fishing last weekend wasn't very good off Catawba and not much better west of South Bass Island to Rattlesnake Island. No report from Crane Creek area. No new reports from this week. The ice conditions, especially after this week's snow, are tough to travel on and there are thin ice areas. There should be travel paths by Friday, so stay on them. Hopefully this evening we'll get some reports from today. Be very careful if you go!
Attachment 6710
West side of South Bass Island, Green Island in background. This is an example of what is out there, and lots of it.
Nobody else is reporting as of 9pm Saturday so here's what little I have heard. First hand - solid ice west nw of South Bass. Fishing off Rattlesnake Island not much success for keepers, but lots of shorts. Don't know how those closer to South Bass did. Second hand reports: off Crane Creek, fair to good catches of walleye, about 3 miles out; off Catawba decent catches of both walleye and perch. There were a lot of people out and around today. I'm reporting a small amount of what happened. No matter where travel was very difficult with the deep snow and lots of ice shoves.
Quarter mile off Rattlesnake Island, looking back at South Bass.
Attachment 6711
How long will the ice last with temperatures above freezing for the next week and this rain coming?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Lucky Duck
The latest satellite picture from yesterday shows big cracks opening up in the Western Basin (west side of the islands) and really broken up ice and open water east of Kelly's.
With the warmer temps this week, and big SSW winds forecast for the next few days, we might see a lot more open water west of the islands later this week. The winds will break off chunks of ice and blow it away from this side of the lake.
The temps will be above freezing most of the week and hit a high of almost 50 next weekend. I don't think we're out of the winter mode yet though, but I doubt very much that any more ice will be forming on the lake as we head into March. :)
I'm just 4 weeks away from the first scheduled trips, so hopefully, it will be all open water by then. Fingers crossed!
Stay tuned...
Capt Juls
Four weeks away from the first trips is exciting!
Yes Capt. that wind is what will do it in for sure, sheets of ice lap right over another segment and open right up.. Normally I would be all about getting out there. But with January being so warm, the ice is not good enough to tempt me on to it.
Bring on the open water!
Was too bad we didnt get that two week cold spell in January to make better ice for the ice fishermen.At least they were able to get in some fishing the past week or more.Looking forward to getting on the lake again.Need alot of ice to melt before can do that.The warmer weather coming this week should melt the snow and let the sun do its job of warming the water.Then the wind and current will work on breaking up and melting it.Hoping by third week in March the marinas are clear of ice to start launching boats.The charters should be able to take people out right away this season.No Covid shutdown to deal with like last season.Have read the few posts on the guys ice fishing and a few of their pictures.Seams like the fish were smaller than i expected and also said they were releasing some short fish.We caught some fish last fall that were just over 15".I assumed they were from that record 2018 hatch and some of the ice fishing pictures showed fish that size.Even though the 2019 and 2020 hatches were good,they were not close to the 2018 hatch.I would guess those shorts caught ice fishing were from the 2019 hatch.
Could be on them smaller ones. I had some buddies do good with some nice fish Friday thru- Sunday. I guy a couple sleds went through at Crane Creek. This was where they went out of. I normally go out of Catabwa. But to much on my plate this year, plus I get enough fishing in without freezing my azz off and crossing the crack. Looking forward to another swim at the weather buoy Bob.. lol
Yeah Kent,the weather Bouy was very productive last season.Caught well there for a quite a long time.But is a haul out to the middle of the lake.Hope they actually deploy that Bouy earlier than they have the past 2 seasons.A lot of people rely in current water conditions to make their decisions.
I made a mistake in my previous post on the 2019 walleye hatch.The 2019 hatch surpassed the great 2018 and was close to equalling the record 2003 hatch.The last 3 hatches will be putting a record number of walleye in lake Erie.A true gift to all who fish Erie.