Warm weather and wheel house...

[auger394]

I am thinking of taking wheel house this weekend but 2 days in a row of mid 40s has me having second thoughts. There is currently 12-14inches of ice on the lake I am fishing, but just uncertain of what warm temps and the wheel house on ice will creates. Any suggestions?

[leech~~]

[auger394]

Non one has advice? I thought maybe I was going to get told i was being to paranoid, but figured it would throw the question out there.....

[Spike76]

Normally I'm ready to give advice, but knowing that ice can never be 100% safe, I'll only say that if you go through the ice, your ice fishing trips will be different from there after. I almost went through once and still it is scary. A good weekend for hunting.

[Fowlmouth]

My advise is make your own decision. When it comes down to it, what do you think? Don't rely on others, think for yourself.

[Lip_Ripper Guy]

My best suggestion is to go out and learn about the ice for yourself. Lots of us spend 60+ days on the ice per year, and what we are comfortable with may be different than others. Drill holes, watch the snow on top of the ice, see how the ice may or may not change.

I've spent enough time on the ice that I won't be uncomfortable with two days of temps above freezing.

[auger394]

Thanks for the replies. I have spent a lot of time on ice and been through a couple times too. With vehicles and body. What I don't have a lot of experience with is wheel houses and ice. I wouldn't hesitate to drive out with the Warner temps, but I have read wheel house can start to sink or wind can do funny things when it gets warm. So I guess I should have cleared up my question. Will others be taking or leaving their houses out this weekend?

[JSK76]

I've been thinking about this all week also as I would like to get the wheel house out again. In my area temps are 43 for Saturday and 39 for Sunday for a high. The thing I think about is how long is the temp at the high for the day, how much if any of the 24 hours is around freezing still. I would think if at least 12 hours of the day is still 32* or less it shouldn't be an issue. Snow cover is going to be a huge factor. I'm going to play it by ear and see how I feel about it Saturday morning with any updated weather reports.

[Pat K]

40 degrees in Dec. with barely 8 hours of sunlight isn't as dangerous as 40 degrees in late Feb. with 10 hours of more direct sunlight. Always drill holes and check the ice condition when you have any doubt.

[leechlake]

I know that the hockey nets on our pond will melt into the ice from radiant heat an 1-2" on a day like that. I assume your house does something similar, therefore shrinking the ice in the spot it's sitting. If you're starting with 16" no big deal but if you're starting with 9" then it would matter. If it wasn't for that being out in those temps never bothers me except watching out for a sunburn and walking on water is a pain.

[Gissert]

Sometimes the problem is not the temps so much as it is the erosion around the holes when water starts running back down them. The circulating melt water can turn a 10 inch hole int a 18 inch hole in a few hours.

If the house is a dark color, the sides that catch the sun can really erode the ice on that side too.

[Boar]

Bingo Gissert, whats happing dude. wind and water are natures erosion kings. black tires on a house already create diviots that are hard to pull out of, now ad warmth, a breeze and water those diviots can sink the tires further. and really be a pain. i was gona put the 20'er out this weekend but opted for ports. seen alot of house out and wished them good luck. plenty of time for a wheel house yet.

[shortfatguy]

When I went out to my spear house today there was about 2-3" of standing water. Inside of the house I could see water running into the hole. I went out and drilled about a dozen holes around the house. I drilled them all at least 10 feet away. With in an hour the water on top of the ice was only about 1/4" deep and no more water running into the hole in the house. If you do this around the area where you set up your wheel house I am sure it will help the situation.