Ice Reports!

[SalmonSlayer2010]

Post ice conditions for your area. I'm going to spud a hole in shallow water today. With the cold weather I expect a couple inches, not much but I'll try standing on it over a foot or two of water and see if it cracks. I'll report back later on today. It will be on lake nosbonsing.

[SalmonSlayer2010]

Well there was some skim ice but still lots of open water. I couldn't even stand on it right next to shore. So I'll wait a week and check again. It was a windy, cold, and snowy day! Sitting by the fire now.

[SalmonSlayer2010]

I drove by Calandar Bay this afternoon and there was no ice. Some slush ice was piling up on the beaches. It is only december 6th and there is cold weather this week. It is -8 right now in Astorville at 4:30pm. The lows will be between -10 and -18 all week so that should help!

[SalmonSlayer2010]

Well, lake Nipissing had ice as far as I could see. In a couple weeks it should be safe if this cold stays! It is -14 at 1:30 pm today on December 9th!

[Pete]

As of Dec. 15 Golden Lake is completely iced over. I even saw a chair out on the ice about 50 yards off the north shore so it looks like some eager soul was out there trying his luck.

[SalmonSlayer2010]

haha, thats what I think I'm going to do this week; set up a chair on Lake Nosbonsing behind my grandpa's house. That way I can fish for a while and come in and warm up. I'll have to see if trapper joe has minnows. The bait shops in North Bay don't have em in yet but Joe traps his own so I think I might luck out. Otherwise I have 7 minnows in my fish tank left over from summer that are still alive and well. I feed them goldfish flakes. But I would go through them quickly... I would trap my own if I could find where minnows live in winter. The creek I catch them in all summer is frozen over. By Jan. 1st I can fish on Lake Nipissing and mostly I use a bro's blood worm for perch. Easily outfishes minnows. I use a black/silver jigging rapala for walleyes with a minnow head on the middle treble hook. Also outfishes just a plain minnow, but it's a lot of work jigging. I last about an hour or two before I set up a slip bobber and a minnow. Usually my second line is a tip up otherwise I set my slip bobber in one hole and jig in one 2 feet a way. Just a pain when the minnow swims around the line I'm jigging. I try to then set the minnow higher and jig underneath it. Those rapala swim off to the side quite far!

[Pete]

Have you ever tried "Gulp Alive" baits? I find they out fish real live bait. I use a smelt coloured type here in Golden Lake. I also use Jigging Rapalas and put the tail end of the Gulp Alive on the bottom treble. Once I catch a perch I use perch eyes from then on for other perch. I keep them in a heavy salt solution for next time (in an old pill bottle). I've used the Bro's Bloodworm too and their freshwater shrimp. Last year I had really good luck with Storm jigging minnows and my son bought me a great little jig - the Blue Fox Lil Foxee jigging minnow.
Try a beaver pond for live minnows: that's where I used to catch my minnows in the winter.
I've wrecked my knees and back working and shoveling snow or I'd go out and see what thickness of ice is on the lake. Maybe next week.
Good luck if you do go out!

[SalmonSlayer2010]

No but I will have to try them? I havn't tried perch eye's either. So you just cut out the eyes and put them in salt walter in a little container? I will try that too.
So I walked out onto Lake Nosbonsing today and drilled a few holes. My first hole was 7 inches close to shore, my second hole was 5 to 6 inches right in the middle of the channel going into astorville bay. There was one person out fishing that I talked too. He was going to drill another hole after he saw me walk across. So I am ready to get out there! I just have to get some minnows. I set my minnow trap in the beaver house behind my house like you recommended. Its a small pond so I don't know if I will get any but it is sure worth a try with today's minnow prices and my abilty to go through them. It has one huge beaver house and my trap slid down the edge of the dam 5 or 6 feet so there is some depth.

[Pete]

How thick was the ice? It sounds kind of gross but I just poke the perch eyes out with my thumbnail. One time I got a surprise when I hauled out my minnow trap - there was a small brook trout! I didn't even know there were trout in the pond.

Good luck!

[SalmonSlayer2010]

I got out today. There was approximately 6 inches of ice. I got skunked.... I had a couple bites but no hookups. I fished from 1 pm till dark. I saw 5 other people and one snowmobile out there. It was a nice day to be out. Not too cold, only -5.

[reaper700r]

any updates on ice conditions for this weekend apparently it's going to be quite nice up there according to enviroment canada >!!!

[SalmonSlayer2010]

vehicles are now driving out there... It was super cold last night and today so that did it. I'll be driving out on the ice tomorrow.