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

[A-Jay]

17 hours ago, Deephaven said:

What layers do you wear this early to stay warm yourself?

For air temps in the 30's I'm basically dressing for ice fishing (without the gloves)

Base layer is Columbia mid weight Omni heat top & bottom

Simms M's Thermal Mid Layer tops & bottoms

Under Armour CGI Balaclava

Wind blocker hoodie

Simms Challenger Insulated Jacket & Bibbs

Sock liners and Merino wool socks

Columbia Omni heat thermal insulated full size boots. 

A-Jay

 

 

 

[A-Jay]

So stupid ~

🥴

A-Jay

[gim]

16 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

So stupid ~

There could be more coming later this week too. Two systems heading this way on Thursday and another bigger one on Sun/Mon. The landscape is gonna look much different in about a week. I’d rather it be rain now but we’re in dire need of moisture so I won’t complain too much.

[12poundbass]

41 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

So stupid ~

🥴

A-Jay

Not sure about you but it was crazy windy here today! 

[A-Jay]

16 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

Not sure about you but it was crazy windy here today! 

This whole winter has been Crazy ! 

A-Jay

[casts_by_fly]

6 hours ago, A-Jay said:

So stupid ~

🥴

A-Jay

 

but are you ice free?  

[A-Jay]

4 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

but are you ice free?  

I don't know.

Once the smoke clears. I'll need to check. 

A-Jay

[gim]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I don't know.

Once the smoke clears. I'll need to check. 

 

Can't imagine the lakes will be re-freezing.  But hauling a sparkly Lund Pro V Bass across snow covered roads mixed with salt and sand does not sound like a great idea.

[A-Jay]

59 minutes ago, gimruis said:

 

Can't imagine the lakes will be re-freezing.  But hauling a sparkly Lund Pro V Bass across snow covered roads mixed with salt and sand does not sound like a great idea.

Yea, that won't happen. 

The waiting is the hardest part

😪 

A-Jay 

 

[Smokinal]

We had the earliest ice out to date, possibly a record. My home lake was wide open March 7th. I took my neighbor out for the first trip last Sunday, 17th. We caught 55 between the two of us and left them biting. Mostly bass; a few crappie, couple pickerel, 1 yellow perch and 3 16" brookies.

Really odd, welcomed weather this spring!

I hope you all get out soon and have a safe, productive season!

[WaskaCrank12]

Well.....winters vacation is over and it has decided to come roaring back in.....we had about 4 inches of snow Thursday and temps have dropped hard.....now they are calling for 18 to 21 inches of snow with 35 to 45 mph winds from Sunday thru Wednesday.....thankfully I did not de-winterize the boat yet.....I don't think the lakes will fully re-freeze (some of the smaller lakes are now skimmed over again with ice) but it will certainly delay things (docks being put in, lots being cleared, ect...).....blah

[A-Jay]

Well, after 'several days' of on & off snow and single digit wind chill temps,

Lake Menderchuck is Re-Frozen !

And it looks pretty solid too.

Don't think I'd try to land a G6 on it,

but I ain't fishing for a while either.

So, the countdown has been re-instated.

09 Days ~

Might be close too,

especially of it warms up a little.

Either way, I'm double trouble ready this time around.

A-Jay

[gim]

3 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

Lake Menderchuck is Re-Frozen !

 

[TnRiver46]

Two countdowns in one year! 

[A-Jay]

37 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Two countdowns in one year! 

 

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

I was hoping to fish on Thursday when it's supposed to reach 47 for a couple hours, but that was dependent upon the ground not being icy. It's still white outside. Like, @A-Jay, I won't tromp through icy woods to fish. Sigh. 

[MIbassyaker]

We're bouncing around between 30s and 50s, periodic rain, lots of wind. We got about 4 inches of snow Friday, but it's already gone. 

 

But no re-icing. Still open water everywhere. In theory, there are days coming up on the forecast I could get out on the kayak, but I'm still a few weeks out from having any free time.  Third week of April maybe. More likely the 4th. 

 

I'm just hoping the volatility continues, and we don't get too warm too quickly.  Some years, they are nearly spawning by the time I can get out. Hoping that doesn't happen, but fearing it might this year.

[gim]

18 minutes ago, MIbassyaker said:

I'm just hoping the volatility continues, and we don't get too warm too quickly.  Some years, they are nearly spawning by the time I can get out. Hoping that doesn't happen, but fearing it might this year.

 

I completely get this line of thinking.  I would like it to warm up "some" so I can get my boat out a few times panfishing, but I don't want it to be "summer like" so early.  If you asked me a month ago if I was going to completely miss prespawn bass fishing here, I would have said yes with great positivity.  If you asked me now, I might say 50-50.  We have over a foot of fresh snow on the ground and air temps do not look like they will reach 50 degrees for a week.

 

I can't legally target a bass until May 11 so most years the spawn may just be starting, starting soon after that, or its in early June, depending on what part of the state and how big the water body is.  Most years I would say that it occurs the second half of May into early June here.

 

Last year I got about 10 days of pre-spawn bass fishing in.

[MIbassyaker]

It doesn't help that most places I fish are small and typically warm early. I tend to get a 1-3 week prespawn window once work obligations ease at the end of April. Sometimes I can prolong it if I choose carefully where to fish and when...the lakes over in @12poundbass's territory are usually a few degrees behind the ones closest to me, and around the lower Grand River.  But just as often the spawn is imminent almost everywhere after my first couple outings.

[A-Jay]

Some early trip seasons I will fish the smallest waters first.

As they warm the fastest.

Bigger inland lakes IME take 'some time' to warm sufficiently after ice out to where the big fish will set up where I'm looking for them.  Every year is different, could be a few days or a couple of weeks.

Usually depends on how late open water happens. 

The later it is, the faster it warms. 

So I get to scratch the itch and work the dust off a bit while I wait.

The smaller lakes offer great numbers and I'll catch the 'biggest' bass I'll see from them all season.

But the true trophies are in places that have goby and zebra mussels. 

And most of the smaller places do not. 

Finally water temps past 50 make me sad. 

A-Jay

 

 

[A-Jay]

Admittedly I'm not sure how already fishing a couple of times in 2024 actually effects the rules regarding the official countdown.

Since this is my wacky thread guess I can decide how that goes.

But either way since it's re-frozen we're sitting at 6 days and a wake up ~

It's been cold or perhaps cooler is a better term, with air temps in the mid to low 20's

and intermittent snow flurries.  Snow on the ground's gone but can't say if that's the right deal to help with open water.

Haven't been to any lakes in a few days but instead I've been in this weird state

of semi-suspended animation where I want to cast but what's the sense. 

This Sunday the winds are forecast to let up to where I could get on one the bigger lakes

but I'll need open water confirmation before making that commitment. 

If local Lake Menderchuck opens up before then, I might go there just to scratch the itch a bit.

Which at this point is build to something I'm not actually able to describe

without including quite a bit of colorful terms. 

More to follow.

A-Jay

 

 

[A-Jay]

Like a Ping Pong Ball bouncing back & forth over the net,

so is the iced up / open water status of Lake Menderchuck.

Checked it yesterday - Open water Again.

Such a different deal this spring, and I use that term in the most literal sense.

Either way, I'm hitting a local Lake today and headed for bigger water on Sunday,

as long as the forecast holds close.

Can you say jerkbaits - I can.

I'm out !

😁

A-Jay

[A-Jay]

The Time Has Come ~

 

A-Jay

 

[MIbassyaker]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

The Time Has Come ~

 

A-Jay

 

 

Now we're talkin'!

 

[12poundbass]

Well done sir!