March 01? Forget it.

With Lake Erie now near or at 100% ice coverage, and the Western Basin having 12-18" of ice (as of Friday), with two more days of frigid temps (Sat Sun) probably adding another inch or two, you are looking at say 16-22 inches of ice out on the Lake. The harbors and marinas, launch ramps, will probably have even thicker ice. Current forecast has two more periods of cold weather before the end of the month. It will take a long time for ice to melt enough to first get out to the Lake from the launch ramps, and second for the Lake itself to thaw and enough ice melt to make it safe to get out.

Right now with the current February forecast, I wouldn't plan on the (safe) open water season starting until mid-March at the earliest. So put to rest any idea of getting out before then. It's going to be a later start and season.