Well, the ice fisherman of the area got another day of ice fishing on the Marilla Reservoir Saturday.

There was about 3 inches of *questionable* ice.

They say that 3 inches of solid water ice, will hold a car, but the ice on the Reservoir is half snow and slush and half ice. What I like to call "punky" ice.

BUT Saturday morning and most of the day it held fisherman!

The ice was softer and thiner near the shore. It tapered from 3" to zero at the shore line. In most areas you had to step over open water onto the ice. A bit unnerving for the inexperienced ice fisherman (like my girlfriend!).

Buy the mid afternoon on Saturday, the ice started to get scary. There were people attempting to get on the ice and breaking through. A few I saw went in over their boots an one sunk up to his knees.

We had to choose our exit from the ice very carefully. But we made it without getting wet (or worse!)

It is real nice ice fishing in the warm weather and in the bright sunlight. My girlfriend ended up catching a small perch and I caught a nice trout. Lot's of fun. We fished next to a group of "first timers".

Looks like there may be ice for next weekend.

Setting the tip-up



Drilling a hole


Enjoying the sunshine


checking a rig


My 13 1/2" Brown Trout

Any day fishing they say. Nice catch stony.

Thanks Flash! Just honing my survival skills! "A good survivalist will have to feed himself and his family year round"!

Ice fishing is a lot of fun if you can get past the cold and the fear of falling through the ice! This coming weekend all we will have to deal with will be the cold!

From the Minnesota DNR:
Ice Rules
As stated before, no ice is ever safe ice. However, many state agencies, such as the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) have come up with a suggested amount of good, clear ice there should be on a body of water before venturing on it with various modes of transportation. Remember this is only a guide, use your instincts and knowledge and inspect the ice before venturing on it.
The DNR recommends the following activities be conducted when at there is at least the following amount of good clear ice on the water body.
Less than 4 inches – STAY OFF! There is no reason to test the newly formed ice at this time.
4-6 Inches – Ice fishing, foot travel in single-file lines, and small spaced seating on the ice should be safe, presuming the ice is clear and clean.
6-10 Inches – Snowmobiles and ATV’s can travel safely on good ice that is over inches thick.
10-16 Inches – Small cars and pick-ups can begin to venture on to the ice. However, the DNR states that it is best to avoid driving on the ice whenever possible.
16+ Inches – A medium-sized car or mid-size pickup can drive on good clear solid ice.

Thanks guitar. This weekend we will have about 6-8 inches of *better* ice! Fat girls will be able to dance on it! LOL!

LOL!!! Do you take a lot of fat girls with you, Stony??? Might be an interesting way to stay warm!

No, that is just my default measure of the strength of something!

Probably not the most politically correct statment ever .....!

I brought my girlfriend with me last weekend, and we put our 5 gallon buckets next to each other to keep warm.

Loved being on the dam when the ice was starting to break. Awe inspiring sound and feeling.

Stony...you should hit Chataqua for the crappie. Great fishing.

Yeah, but where did you SIT?

I’ve just got off the phone from a friend living in Bradford. He said that since early this morning the snow has been nearly waist high and is still falling.
The temperature is dropping way below zero and the north wind is increasing to near gale force. His wife has done nothing but look through the kitchen window and just stare. He says that if it gets much worse, he may have to let her in.

She is just trying to guilt him in to letting her into the house!

Call him back and tell him not to let her in until the driveway and sidewalks are shoveled and salted, she fetches the mail and the newspaper, and she starts his car so it's warm when he leaves for work! She can warm up by cleaning the whole house, doing the laundry and dishes, and cooking dinner!

Now yer getting it Stony.