Will the rain help make some good ice

[Dusty]

there was only 6" of snow on the ice,this WILL MAKE FOR GREAT ICE FROM NOW OUT

[south_metro_fish]

Ya this rain has been cutting this snow down pretty nice, was out this morning. But what about the solid white ice from the snow that the rain isn't going to turn black. Is that going to be good enough ice? Where I have been fishing there is more white when black ice. I also noticed it seemed to take some of the weight off the ice as the water was lower in the holes then yesterday.

[SFC]

With less snow on the ice and hopefully cold weather, more good ice will form from the bottom of the current ice due to less insulation.

[south_metro_fish]

Hope it melted enough because it dropped 23 degrees in 3 hours.

[crappiegetter]

With the way the rain started out I didn't think it was gonna melt much snow after a long day of decent rain melting snow with some cold should make better ice now.

[Hick727]

there was only 6" of snow on the ice,this WILL MAKE FOR GREAT ICE FROM NOW OUT

I was gonna say the same thing.

P.S. I live in Hopkins too. Been here my whole life

[Fisherman45]

I think there is actually a double insulated layer right now the snow is the top layer then an inch of ice with 2 inches of water is the second layer above the the actual top of the ice. What the rain will do is melt a lot of snow to add to the water on the ice so when you drill your holes the water on the ice runs back into the holes and your holes are under 4 inches of water. The only real hope is 2-3 weeks of subzero weather day and night which will make it really rough and really hard.

[vman11]

This has to be the best thing that has happened to the ice that had snow/slush on it.

Normally the water will seep through the cracks and the ice will float up. If it freezes hard before all of the water has a chance to do this at least a majority of the snow insulation will be gone.

Pretty much starting over fresh in regards to ice making capabilities which is a blessing compared to a foot plus of snow and slush.

[FrontenacPike]

Thank God for this thaw! Another plus is it is going to help wildlife tremendously.

As I was driving today the deer were out in full force, you could literally see the smiles on their faces munchin on a mouth full of food. It has been tough on them so far and it was quite common to see them walking through town and eating people shrubs. Glad to see them back where they belong, the woods and fields.

[Zoob]

I think there is actually a double insulated layer right now the snow is the top layer then an inch of ice with 2 inches of water is the second layer above the the actual top of the ice. What the rain will do is melt a lot of snow to add to the water on the ice so when you drill your holes the water on the ice runs back into the holes and your holes are under 4 inches of water. The only real hope is 2-3 weeks of subzero weather day and night which will make it really rough and really hard.

+1

The lakes have two layers of ice with slushy snow in between them - that was before our rain last night. It's bottom black ice, then about an inch or so of slush, then 3-4 inches of white, then our snow that got rain melted and glazed last night.

When this does freeze (we're in the single digits the end of this weekend), we'll have some strange ice. There'll be faults and stress lines all throughout it. It'll look like a foot of ice, but it's whatever the bottom is as solid black, then some very unpredictable ice on the surface. The rain, the refreeze, will make not very strong ice on top, all riddled with stress points where one freeze bonded poorly to a previous freeze.

As I've said before - personally, I'll only gauge the reliability based on that solid black ice at the very bottom - and then take into consideration it has a bunch of dead weight on top of it.

[jBohmer]

Didn't think that the rain was good at first. I was out yesterday 3 to 10:30. It was steamy in my house and by the end of the night when I shut off my heater frost formed in my house. When I got out there there was only spots on the lake that had white snow on top and even that was so full of water it was about to start flowing. When we left the lake was already starting to firm up. This was on top of 13+ inches of ice, I'd say the bottm 10" was solid black. If I had known how thick it was I would have drove. But pulling the sleds back was a peach because the trail that was blazed was froze on top but crunchy enough for traction. I cannot wait to see what the lakes are by Sunday. I have a good feeling driving on the ice is near around the Metro. I went out yesterday at the last minute while it was pouring out and ended up having one of my best outings. Bring on the rain!

[GotALunker]

Personally, I'm going to be very cautious this year...even on my atv or snowmachine. With the weird weather and the unpredictable ice, everyone just needs to be very careful.

A rule of thumb I try to live by is "Don't be the first to drive out there and don't be the last". It isn't worth a fish to lose your life or a friend's life or your kid's or wife's life or even to just go through a traumatic experience.

And for God's sake man...don't live in fear, but just keep it smart and play it safe. If you get a funny feeling about something...go back the way you came.

[south_metro_fish]

Was out this morning and the ice was singing the great sounds I have hardly heard this year. It was making ice like crazy, these next few days should be perfect if we dont get a bunch of snow. Ice cleats need now though. Cant say the fishing was any good though, that rising pressure shut them down big time.

[south_metro_fish]

This rain was perfect, now the whole next week is suppose to be teens and single digits with some bellow zero lows with minimal snow here in the metro. It should be making ice all day and night through out the week and we should be able to drive out safely to the spots we have been wishing we could get to soon.

[BassFisherman]

Yes, went out today and there was no snow on the ice. All the snow melted or blew away and now there is alot more ice down there.

[LipRipper!!]

Same with the lake I was on...still a couple slush spots where the snow drifted but for the most part travel is better. I saw a truck drive out tonight with 8" of black ice and 3" of white ice...wow!!!

[blackdog1101]

I was out on 'Tonka for about 5 hours today, and the rain & warm weather of the past few days killed almost all of the slush. There was about 5" of white ice on top of 8" of clear ice. The lake was popping and heaving making ice the whole time I was out. I think that warm weather really helped out a lot. Now the insulating layer is gone and the lake can make ice again.