A-Jay's 3rd Annual Ice Out / Open Water Countdown Thread ~

[A-Jay]

After what has been an unprecedented & wildly wacky season up to this point,

and without looking back, it’s that time again.

After checking out at a couple of different long term forecast predictor’s (otherwise known as complete guesses)

I am making one of my own ~ 21 April 2021

That leaves 136 days & a wake up until I'm wetting my next line. 

https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown/launch?iso=20210421T12&p0=5787&msg=A-Jay's+3rd+Annual+Ice+Out+%2F+Open+Water+Countdown+Thread+~&font=cursive

 

So here’s to a ‘reasonable’ hard water season (whatever that means),

as well as the fastest possible return to whatever your version of the old normal is. 

 

As always, please feel free to add your comments, support, and yes, even the jabs;

as I know they're inevitable & always quite entertaining.

And while you're at it, don't forget to add a few pics of recent catches. 

All of which may help to pass the time . . . .

Stay Safe

A-Jay

 

 

[MN Fisher]

Okay - Tonka - https://freshwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ice_Out_HistoryChart_2020.pdf

Last five years is kind of all over the board

April 2, 2020

April 20, 2019

May 5, 2018

March 27, 2017

March 17, 2016

 

Given the weather we've been having and the long-range forecast from the CPC predicting near-normal temps this winter....

 

I'm going with April 12 for Tonka.

[FishinBuck07]

Holy crap if my lakes stayed frozen that long I would just end it!  

[DogBone_384]

Everything's still open up here in E/SE Massachusetts, including Cape Cod.  Cape Cod didn't freeze over last year, so I have no horse in this race, yet. 

 

IF it freezes over this year, we'll be fishing open water again by March 15th.

[Jigfishn10]

Winter blues sinking in early?...?...Although, last winter was pretty mild - here anyway - me thinks we're in for a much different winter this year.

[12poundbass]

Going through my pictures I have 6poundbass on our dock fishing March 11 this year. 
 

I’ll shoot for March 6. 

[A-Jay]

 There's something I failed to mention in the OP.

And when considering this thread's title & general subject matter, it's a fairly important factor.

Virtually none of the water up this way is frozen over yet.

Sort of unusual.

Not complaining really, just felt I needed to pass that on.

Have to admit the lack of seasonably cold air temps & no snow right about now,

has me rethinking my prediction already; despite being so early in the game here.

Local forecast is wicked mild as well.

A-Jay

 

[MN Fisher]

We're kind of in the same boat here - even though there's a thin sheet of ice on the lakes locally.

[gim]

On 12/6/2020 at 9:50 AM, MN Fisher said:

Okay - Tonka - https://freshwater.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Ice_Out_HistoryChart_2020.pdf

Last five years is kind of all over the board

April 2, 2020

April 20, 2019

May 5, 2018

March 27, 2017

March 17, 2016

 

Given the weather we've been having and the long-range forecast from the CPC predicting near-normal temps this winter....

 

I'm going with April 12 for Tonka.

Spring 2018 sucked! 
 

Last year even though the ice may have been gone on April 2, we had a wicked Easter Day blizzard which I think was a few days after that.

 

I’ll go April 4 for ice out in 2021.

 

I just realized that this is in the Northeast regional thread too. Maybe I’m lost...
 

 

[Michigander]

I'm not at all sure what to expect. I haven't found a winter forecast that seems believable yet. I know that I was back on the kayak in late February this year, so not sure what to expect for 2021.

[A-Jay]

118 Days & a Wake Up ~

Which doesn't actually sound that far off to me for some reason . . . .

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

2 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

118 Days & a Wake Up ~

Which doesn't actually sound that far off to me for some reason . . . .

136 days and a wakeup here - Bass season opens May 8, 2021.

[roadwarrior]

6 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

136 days and a wakeup here - Bass season opens May 8, 2021.

 

Man, I just can't get my head around that restriction.  Can you fish for other species?

[MN Fisher]

Just now, roadwarrior said:

 

Man, I just can't get my head around that restriction.  Can you fish for other species?

It's only closed for 2-1/2 months.

 

Game fish closes end of February...smallmouth C&R only from mid-September on - walleye, northern, muskie, bass - opens again 2nd Saturday in May - bass for C&R only, opens for 'keepers' Saturday of Memorial Weekend.

 

Trout has so many crazy times that to post the open/close seasons would take a few paragraphs.

[roadwarrior]

Well, that's  a horse of a different color.  I would like smallmouth

in Tennessee to have a  C&R restriction for anything under 12 lbs.

 

 

 

[MN Fisher]

13 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

Well, that's  a horse of a different color.  I would like smallmouth

in Tennessee to have a C&R restriction for anything under 12 lbs.

Our state record smallie is 8-0, largie 8-15.

[A-Jay]

36 minutes ago, roadwarrior said:

 

Man, I just can't get my head around that restriction.  Can you fish for other species?

Here in MI, it's Catch and IMMEDIATE Release early season.  Which I probably push a little when I weigh and photo/video plus size brown bass.  This also means that IF a new state record is caught during this time, it can Not be registeted as such because the documentation process includes keeping the fish for a state biologists identification.   So that's  kind of bogus. 

A-Jay 

[MN Fisher]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Here in MI, it's Catch and IMMEDIATE Release early season.

At least you can hunt for them all year. MN - between end of Feb and season opener...if they find you hunting any 'game fish'...fine, loss of license and maybe boat confiscation as well.

 

They're VERY strict here.

[A-Jay]

16 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

At least you can hunt for them all year. MN - between end of Feb and season opener...if they find you hunting any 'game fish'...fine, loss of license and maybe boat confiscation as well.

 

They're VERY strict here.

I get it.

It was like the here too for my first 10 seasons.  Use to kill me sitting on the beach staring at open water.  Especially knowing what the potential was.  Once they finally opened it up, well you know. Hope they change it up soon for you.

A-Jay

 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, A-Jay said:

Hope they change it up soon for you.

They had to fight to get one change through some years ago. Use to be you couldn't even hunt bass until Memorial weekend. They finally got it open for C&R when the walleye/northern season opened.

[gim]

Wisconsin added a full year long C & R season for bass last year. I don’t foresee it happening in Minnesota for a number of years.

 

A new MN state record requires weight certification on a registered scale and at least one witness, which basically means you will have to kill the fish. They have added a handful of new C & R state records in recent years, mostly on large species such as catfish, sturgeon, pure strain muskie, and northern pike. I’ve emailed them more than once that I would like to see every species present in MN added to this C & R state record status.

[Way north bass guy]

You guys have it easy, up here our bass season ( for most of the province in the south at least), doesn’t start until either the third or fourth Saturday in June, depending on where you are. No catch and release season either. It’s not the end of the world, as we have a tremendous amount of other species in season, and the spring monster pike fishing can be phenomenal, but still ?.

[MN Fisher]

6 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

You guys have it easy, up here our bass season ( for most of the province in the south at least), doesn’t start until either the third or fourth Saturday in June, depending on where you are.

Wonder if it's a difference besides latitude. You're only 22' north of me...which is 25 miles. Which would mean close to the same climate...except for maybe the influence of Huron for you.

[gim]

12 minutes ago, Way north bass guy said:

No catch and release season either. It’s not the end of the world, as we have a tremendous amount of other species in season

I look at it as a period of time to target another species that I normally would not, like crappies. Most years there’s still ice on our lakes in April anyways so we’d realistically be looking at a week or two more of C & R bass fishing anyways.

[A-Jay]

2 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Wonder if it's a difference besides latitude. You're only 22' north of me...which is 25 miles. Which would mean close to the same climate...except for maybe the influence of Huron for you.

This location in the middle of state seems to consistently be the coldest area up here.

If you check the wx, see for yourself, Otsego county runs a few clicks down the mercury meter all year.

Good in July, not so much in January.

A-Jay