The saying goes, “All good things must come to an end”, and we sure had a great ice fishing season this winter! It has officially come to it’s conclusion with the warming trend that finally arrived over the weekend and has continued into this week, along with some rain. Ice-out area-wide is close. As of this writing, a drive around to visit area lakes will take you to some open water and some lakes that are still locked up, but that will change quickly now. Perfect timing.
All in all, it was a beautiful winter season for the Eagle River area. Perch fishing was a highlight from start to finish, with some very respectable fish showing up on the mud flats and weed edges. …
Winter decided to remind us of who’s still in charge this past weekend and into the beginning of this week. We are surely all hoping that by mid- to late-week temperatures will start to climb again. This is classic Northwoods April, and anyone surprised by it hasn’t been up here long enough.
Ice conditions have deteriorated noticeably over the past week. Reports from around the area indicate that very few anglers are venturing out, and frankly, that’s probably the right call for many folks right now. The overnight temps dropping back below freezing this week will firm things up some in the mornings, but the cumulative effect of the warming trend and the mixed precipitation we’ve been having is adding up. …
Well, we got a taste of something nice last weekend — temps climbed into the upper 50s on Sunday with southwest winds and fair skies, which felt pretty good after the stretch we’ve been through. Don’t read too much into it, though. Monday looks to be the highlight of the week with a high near 55, but after that we’re sliding back down — rain and snow mix by Tuesday, highs only in the upper 30s through the middle of the week, and a good chance of snow Thursday. The Northwoods winter isn’t ready to let go just yet.
There is still plenty of ice out there, but it’s getting messy and iffy in spots. Current areas like the Chain deserve extra caution right now. …
We saw a limited number of anglers through the doors last week as the snow cover is a factor for many. The temperature looks to be holding steady during the coming days, but last week was one of those gut-punch late winter weeks, with that snow to start it out. We had a couple of nice days after that, but not enough to really change the conditions on the lakes and shorelines much.
Ice is holding but it’s definitely getting sloppy in some places, with layers of slush and pitted ice on top of the solid base. Now is the time of the year to use extra caution on ice like the Chain, where there is current. We’ve yet to see or hear about any big issues, …