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

[A-Jay]

80 Days ~

We got a healthy dose of the lake effect snow past couple of days .

18 or so inched on the ground now and it's still coming down, 5-6 more inches expected today.

Dogs like it.

But we can do without the single digit air temps. 

https://youtu.be/DIxoNIZ7hw4?feature=shared

So although it may have taken this winter a bit to get going, she's doing fine. 

I'll be spending a good part of at least the morning performing the standard snow removal operations.  I'm ready for it too.

Meanwhile it's 'Tight Line Sunday'.

Dropping this healthy specimen right here.

Not the biggest brown bass but a good one.

And there's just something about that red eye and the fullness of her frame.

Makes me happy.

Stay Warm 

A-Jay

 

[12poundbass]

With air temps barely cracking the double digits for the next few days and overnight lows barely above zero I suspect the lakes will be frozen in no time.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, 12poundbass said:

I suspect the lakes will be frozen in no time.

Tonka is now socked in, but still too thin for major traffic. That might change soon as we'll stay below 0 until Tuesday...so good chance of the ice firming up.

[A-Jay]

77 Days ~

Lake Menderchuck is looking a little frozen, finally.

A-Jay

[12poundbass]

Tip Up Town starts this weekend just south of you. I’ve heard there’s only three inches of ice. Sounds like a recipe for disaster for the idiots who go on the ice. 

[A-Jay]

8 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Tip Up Town starts this weekend just south of you. I’ve heard there’s only three inches of ice. Sounds like a recipe for disaster for the idiots who go on the ice. 

Yup ~

That pic I posted above is deceiving in that it's barely skim ice with snow on it. 

Really hope folks use caution before venturing onto the local lakes.

A-Jay

[gim]

On 1/14/2024 at 7:36 AM, MN Fisher said:

Tonka is now socked in, but still too thin for major traffic. That might change soon as we'll stay below 0 until Tuesday...so good chance of the ice firming up.

Looks like "vehicle" traffic might be delayed, or not happen at all this winter based on the forecast.  Sucks if you have a $25,000 Ice Castle sitting on shore, but that's the gamble you take.

 

I'm guessing there's enough to at least walk out there but no chance I'd risk anything beyond that.

[MN Fisher]

48 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I'm guessing there's enough to at least walk out there but no chance I'd risk anything beyond that.

Black Lake is one of the 'hot spots' in the Tonka chain...other day when I passed by it, there was about a dozen pop-ups and a dozen more guys in the open.

[A-Jay]

73 Days ~

Temps in the single digits again this morning.

However forecast is calling for a little bump in air temps up to the 30-ish range by mid-week.

I'd take that right about now.

 

All the rigs have been checked, prepped & cleaned for the next campaign. 

I'll be readying baits for sale all this week

and am looking forward to giving them a happy new home.

Either way, it's 'Tight Line Sunday'

which up to this point has been dominated by brown bass.

So let's fix that . . . . #likeagrouper

A-Jay

[MN Fisher]

13 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

However forecast is calling for a little bump in air temps up to the 30-ish range by mid-week.

Our bump starts today - 20 then 30s starting tomorrow

 

14 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

All the rigs have been checked, prepped & cleaned for the next campaign. 

You're ahead of me there - I've just started my reel maintenance cycle.

[A-Jay]

25 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

 

You're ahead of me there - I've just started my reel maintenance cycle.

It's been too cold to foster a dog,

so I've had time. If I get the rest of this done early enough,  there's a couple of potential candidates locally that we are keeping an eye on. 

A- Jay

 

 

[MN Fisher]

6 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

there's a couple of potential candidates locally that we are keeping an eye on. 

You're a good man, Andy.

[A-Jay]

On 1/21/2024 at 9:34 AM, A-Jay said:

It's been too cold to foster a dog,

so I've had time. If I get the rest of this done early enough,  there's a couple of potential candidates locally that we are keeping an eye on. 

A- Jay

 

 

May have just found our next foster "Project" ~

Met "Timber" a few days a go at the local animal shelter. 

Kind of have a feeling we'll get along just fine.

More to follow . . . 

A-Jay

[A-Jay]

69 Days ~

Current Air temps are in the 30's here.

Ice pack is tenuous at best.

Either way, it was a balmy 68 degrees in the home gym.

A-Jay

 

 

[Susky River Rat]

People were ice fishing here. My wife asked if i was going to go. I said no way is that ice safe enough. Now it’s raining and I should have the boat out this weekend

[12poundbass]

On my way home I drove past a lake that was half open and there were two guys in the middle of the lake less than 10’ away from open water. 
 

Not smart!

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, 12poundbass said:

On my way home I drove past a lake that was half open and there were two guys in the middle of the lake less than 10’ away from open water. 
 

Not smart!

I’ll go right up to the ice edge some times… in a kayak. I have no interest in going out on the ice.

[A-Jay]

67 Days ~

Mild winter continues, like ground hog day.

Next 10 days all expected to be above freezing.

Pretty crazy.

I'll be on the road tomorrow so I'm doing 'Tight Line Saturday night"

These 5 Brown bass were the only fish I got on this day

and represent one of the best smallie trips of my life.

The dink of the day was the first fish at 5.24 lbs. 

A-Jay

[Susky River Rat]

Ice out!

[casts_by_fly]

6 hours ago, A-Jay said:

 

 

A-Jay

 

this fish looks like something from an aquarium. The type where they just get fat because they aren’t actually doing any work. Incredible fish. 

[A-Jay]

On 1/22/2024 at 5:14 PM, A-Jay said:

May have just found our next foster "Project" ~

Met "Timber" a few days a go at the local animal shelter. 

Kind of have a feeling we'll get along just fine.

More to follow . . . 

A-Jay

Quick update and good news ~

Timber is already out on his two week trial at his new home.

So we'll keep an eye out for a different new project.

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

Zero degrees this morning on the coast of Maine and 14 below with wind chill. Everything is white and frosty, but the days are getting longer. 

 

Timber is a good-looking guy. 

[A-Jay]

36 minutes ago, ol'crickety said:

Zero degrees this morning on the coast of Maine and 14 below with wind chill. Everything is white and frosty, but the days are getting longer. 

 

Timber is a good-looking guy. 

You are welcome to keep that Canadian cold all to yourself thank you. 

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

16 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

You are welcome to keep that Canadian cold all to yourself thank you. 

A-Jay

 

We don't enjoy the cold, but we're grateful for the snow. It's water in the bank. Thanks for loving that good dog. 

[A-Jay]

62 days ~

Conditions will start mostly sunny this morning before cloud cover increases this afternoon.

Big story (but not exactly a new one) for the next several days will be mild temperatures and no precipitation across northern Michigan continuing to melt our snowpack. Expect highs in the upper 30s and low 40s for most areas into next week.

 

(used to be local weather pic here - but now, not so much)

 

Unless the waters of local Lake Menderchuck are somehow able to defy the laws of physics,

it's hard not to believe that an 'earlier than average' open water date here is imminent.

Funny part of this may be, as exciting as that is, and it is exciting,

a few years ago I believed that an early open water would prolong the routinely insane brown bass pre-spawn fishing.  And while it might by a few days or so, what really ends up happening is that the early start has me out on big water in weather conditions that are closer to winter than anything spring like.

So, it's cold, windy and last year we did a few fishing in the snow trips.

All were productive, but I'd sure like to be using the net & scale repeatedly in shirt sleeves rather than a permaloft gumby suit.

One things for certain, if it's semi-safe, I'll be there either way.

A-Jay