**The Official 2018 Ice-Out Thread**

[Crestliner2008]

Well, I'm just going flat out nuts! If I rearrange my tackle one more time, my wife will put me in a rubber suit! We're going to get clobbered again tomorrow! UGH! This is what the last storm looked like and it appears that we'll be adding another 6" on top of that:

 

 

[DogBone_384]

It’s not so bad.... I’ve caught smallies in open water all year in southeastern MA.  I even bagged a nice 3-2 Larry yesterday at Ponkapog Pond in Canton, MA.  All the waters I fished/scouted so far this year are high, which is good if we have a dry Spring or Summer.

 

It’ll break soon enough up here, and until then, grab your boots, shovels, and snow throwers....

[Deleted account]

I want to have sympathy for my brethren in and around the 43rd parallel, but I have a cabin for a week first week of June in the St. Lawrence, so I need it to stay unusually cold for a while, so dress warm, and put extra marsh mellows in the hot chocolate...

[gim]

I hear ya.  We've got at least 2 feet of ice and melting snow on most of the lakes here in Minnesota too.  And even if it does melt early, we can't legally target a bass until May anyways.  Just wait.  When July rolls around and its 100 degrees in the south, we'll be loving life again up here while they roast away.

[LadiMopar]

12 hours ago, Crestliner2008 said:

Well, I'm just going flat out nuts! If I rearrange my tackle one more time, my wife will put me in a rubber suit! We're going to get clobbered again tomorrow! UGH! This is what the last storm looked like and it appears that we'll be adding another 6" on top of that:

 

Hey Crestliner2008 I'll happily trade you those itty bitty 6 inches (translated = flurry) for the 17 we got last storm, and the 14+ we're getting tomorrow! I won't even throw in the 45 mph winds, or the power outages...sound like a deal? 

[Adam.love05]

It's a tough life we live up here in the Northeast! But! We are on the downside of this torture!! Another 2-3 weeks and I think (hope) we'll at least be able to catch a few in the Rivers that have opened up.. lake Champlain however is still covered in 12-16" of garbage ice that can't be fished on and refuses to leave!

 

I tried fishing the lamoille river today and had no luck. But it felt good to get out and cast at least. 

[drscholl14]

I love ice fishing but once February hits I just want to be on the boat. Thank god for the Mississippi which has some open water pockets throughout the Winter so I've been able to scratch the itch with some smallmouth shore fishing trips.

[Adam.love05]

1 minute ago, drscholl14 said:

I love ice fishing but once February hits I just want to be on the boat. Thank god for the Mississippi which has some open water pockets throughout the Winter so I've been able to scratch the itch with some smallmouth shore fishing trips.

Nice one! I've scratched the itch but haven't linked up with one yet! 

[NHBull]

The new boat is ready and 18" of the site stuff will be hee tomorrow....36 " in a week is crazy.

Ontario upside, Spring runoff should be fun 

[Ksam1234]

59 minutes ago, drscholl14 said:

I love ice fishing but once February hits I just want to be on the boat. Thank god for the Mississippi which has some open water pockets throughout the Winter so I've been able to scratch the itch with some smallmouth shore fishing trips.

That's a beauty, I tried fishing the rivers around here and no success. Even tried open water pockets on lakes and nothing  maybe someday 

[N Florida Mike]

High 30s tonite here. Weird winter . Very cold all January .Very warm february. Now a below avg. March.

[desmobob]

I got out and made a few casts at South Bay in Lake Champlain... no fish, but I scratched the itch.  The lake looks open from the South Bay boat launch north to at least Dresden or Putnam from what I could see in my travels today.  The very southern part of the lake south of the South Bay bridge (NY Rt.22) is still mostly covered with ice.

 

6"-11" of new snow in the forecast for me.  Ugh!

 

Tight lines,

Bob

[haggard]

"Patience, grasshopper."

 

[jbmaine]

It's snowwwwwwwingggggggg.

 2" already and in my area up to 21" total before it's over.

At this rate ice out is a ways away.

                                 Jim

[NYWayfarer]

5-8" predicted here today. It's snowing steady but the roads are treated so nothing appears to be sticking. Just a messy sloppy ride to work.

 

This time last year I was able to take two fishing trips as we had open water. I got skunked but at least I was able to get out. This year looks like I won't see any trips till mid-April if this weather pattern keeps up.

[J Francho]

@Ksam1234 merged your thread into our original pit of despair thread. 

 

Snow coming tonight.  Again.

[A-Jay]

Forget this in like a lion & out like a lamb stuff ! 

A-Jay

[12poundbass]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Forget this in like a lion & out like a lamb stuff ! 

A-Jay

Uh oh looks like the cabin fever is getting the best of ya buddy! Hop on 127 and head south towards me, I have open water.

[A-Jay]

1 minute ago, 12poundbass said:

Uh oh looks like the cabin fever is getting the best of ya buddy! Hop on 127 and head south towards me, I have open water.

No way -  I'm good.

Just venting ~ It's healthy.

And thanks for the local/ down state update.

A-Jay

[Hawkeye21]

Things were looking great here in Iowa two weeks ago but then we got hit with a big snow storm last Monday.  This week things are looking up again and the snow is almost all gone again.  Lakes are starting to open up in the middle part of the state while the southern half of the state has open water.  I think the IA/MN border is still froze over.

 

We're finally getting to the point where the overnight temps should stay above freezing which will be huge.

[drscholl14]

Supposed to be in the 50s by the end of the week around here. Not that it'll help much. 

[LadiMopar]

Ice was out..now it's back and with 3 Nor'easters in less than two weeks here it'll be June before the snow disappears again.

With today's storm we're up to about 3 feet of the nasty white stuff...ugh!

[Smokinal]

8 hours ago, LadiMopar said:

Ice was out..now it's back and with 3 Nor'easters in less than two weeks here it'll be June before the snow disappears again.

With today's storm we're up to about 3 feet of the nasty white stuff...ugh!

Just got in from doing the driveway and now off to work. Yes, another 12-14" between yesterday and last night, with another 2-3 coming during the day. 3rd big blast Mother has given us in the last 2 weeks.

Well, with my glass half full, at least our lakes will be full this spring.

Hope everyone in the Northeast is well.

And everyone else for that matter.

 

Now, I gotta go visit the Fishing Reports section...

[jbmaine]

Just stuck my head outside. 16-18" here and still snowing. 

[WolfyBrandon]

[March 19, 2018]

 

Update:   It snowed about an inch yesterday morning, but quickly melted off. Today was my first day back to work at my seasonal job. When I got off work I stopped by the local tackle store, and picked up my 2018 Fishing License. I couldn't resist the urge to take a peak at the lake conditions, so I took a little road trip...

 

 

 

   The lake is about 4 feet low, heavily stained with about 6 inches of clarity, and was 99% clear of ice. I didn't have a thermometer with me, but I would guess the water temp was in the high 30's to low 40's, as it felt very cold instead of painfully cold. The water is low enough that it would be difficult to launch a boat right now at this ramp. You can walk 15-20ft out on the dock, and its still only about a foot in depth. No fishing gear with me today as it was just a technical observation day. Once we get a few weeks of warm weather, and that water rises... It'll be game time!

 

WolfyBrandon