parents worried about the late ice period for late ice panfish

[robert aldrich]

i am going to go late ice panfishing tomarrow, but my parents are worried about the ice. we sill have a foot of ice on lake winona and there are trucks and cars on the ice.

[Sonicrunch]

thickness is irrelevant this time of year. all the ice just fades away at the same rate

[robert aldrich]

thats very true.

[Rick G]

If your carefull and dont drive into open water chances are you will be fine

I would'nt call this late ice yet either. I plan on fishing for a couple or a few weeks yet depending on how the ice holds up.

[robert aldrich]

late ice comes for people and areas at differnt times like here in winona mn on the mississippi river. the ice on the river is gone and the lakes are starting to open up.

[Rick G]

I guess I never realised that Winona was so far away from St Cloud that we would have such differing ice conditions. Here in town the Mississippi is still frozen solid and most of the lakes have 24-30in of ice yet. If the ice conditions in that part of the state are truely that bad you could try walking out. Or you could do what I do when the ice starts to get thin around here and thats head north till you find good ice.

[Great Outdoors]

i am going to go late ice panfishing tomarrow, but my parents are worried about the ice. we sill have a foot of ice on lake winona and there are trucks and cars on the ice.

Your parents are going to worry about many things that you do, and may be overly cautious in your young mind.

However, that's their job.

They may have(through the ages) seen or heard of people falling through the ice being rescued, or worst case, dying.

About 30-40 years down the road, you will come to realize that your choices may not have been the smartest during your younger days.

Everyone does, it's part of the maturing process.

Your parents are just trying to get you to this period.

[wayne123]

They should be worried and you should be too. You may be able to go with reasonable safety. You need to proceed with caution. Also someone in your group should be the cautious type with lots of experience on late ice. No one should be driving cars on a foot of late ice.

If you go be safe. For sure do not drive out. Ice thickness and quality can vary a lot especially on late ice.

[broken_line]

ice doesnt start to get crappy till all the snow is off of it and you get some 60 degree days with lots of wind. or a long period in the 40s with no refreezing

[My_Key]

I guess I never realised that Winona was so far away from St Cloud that we would have such differing ice conditions. Here in town the Mississippi is still frozen solid and most of the lakes have 24-30in of ice yet. If the ice conditions in that part of the state are truely that bad you could try walking out. Or you could do what I do when the ice starts to get thin around here and thats head north till you find good ice.

The Mississippi is open in Monticello, at least it was on Thursday when I drove over it........

[bturck]

The older you get.....the smarter your parents become. its a proven fact.....

[scott b]

Educate your parents the way I did when I was younger. "Mom. It took three months of freezing to get the lakes to where they are. Do you really think they will melt in a day, just because the temp was 5 degrees above freezing?" Then stick with "the shorelines melt first". So when it's finally unsafe is when the ladder doesn't reach any more. My mom and your mom sound like allot of the guys on these forums. When the temps get above freezing for a couple of hours during the day, the ice will magically evaporate from under your feet. As far as the Miss.. Well that's a river and doesn't apply to anything I just said. Late ice is great, just treat it with respect.

[MN BassFisher]

The Mississippi is open in Monticello, at least it was on Thursday when I drove over it........

Hasn't it been open all winter? There's a warm water discharge (powerplant?) upstream. I had friends and saw reports on here of people open water fishing there in January catchings smallies.

[trappingaddiction]

The Mississippi is open in Monticello, at least it was on Thursday when I drove over it........

Yes, the power plant keeps the water open year around, except just a little bit of the edges that have very thin ice on them.

[g_anoka]

The older you get.....the smarter your parents become. its a proven fact.....

That is the truth, both for me, and for my kids.

[My_Key]

Hasn't it been open all winter? There's a warm water discharge (powerplant?) upstream. I had friends and saw reports on here of people open water fishing there in January catchings smallies.

I wouldn't really know this, but it has been answered already. I just happened to cross over it on my way to Big Lake.

[robert aldrich]

they are not worrie anymore.

[Big-Al]

Quote:

there are trucks and cars on the ice

I know that you are not necessarily saying you are driving, but driving on a foot of late ice is extremely foolish in by book. Thickness has nothing to do with strength and integrity when it comes to at ice.

[Ed Carlson]

There are always trucks out, tell one falls in...then suddenly...not so many the next day.

Just remember, things change very quickly in late March. Ice will become unsafe quickly, do not push your luck.

[Gissert]

I have much more caution on late ice than early ice.

[NoWiser]

I used to be brave too....until I fell through and almost died January 8th, 2007 about 2 hours after sunset. Its a nightmare I relive often in my dreams, and everytime I've been on the ice since. If there is ANY question as to whether or not the ice is still safe, please just stay off. It isn't worth it to catch a couple little sunfish. If you do go out, throw on a life vest, have ice picks handy, carry ropes, and bring a friend. People like to talk tough about the ice being safe. I'm guessing these same people have never been swimming in 34 degree water with heavy winter clothes and pack boots on.....

[scott b]

I've been in. Twice. Probably gonna go through a few more, till I'm too old to pull myself up any more.

[fish2morrow]

With all these cautions you guys are making me paranoid. Maybe I should do some investing if I want to do late ice then?

[theharvester]

its really bad you all should stay home so i can be alone out there lol

[fishinfey8]

I've been in. Twice. Probably gonna go through a few more, till I'm too old to pull myself up any more.

Wow man, you are determined to catch a few panfish. I put my stuff away already. The state record crappie couldn't coax me into going out on honeycombing ice. I have seen swirl holes get bigger by the second once, and that's enough to keep me away from late ice.

I know there's plenty of ice out there in diff places throughout the state, but I just don't have the same passion to chase tiny (but tasty) fish as I did a month ago.