Sk8man

Mike you have a PM

I fished it today with my son at the south end and we had 4-5 inches out from the launch of solid ice but as stated there is only a couple inches when you go north toward the middle and I spoke with a guy who punched a hole with just one jab in spots (1- 1/12 inches in spots). We ended up with about 50 real large gills and sunnys but as Brian said there were many throw back dinks in the mix today and a couple perch that were smaller than some of the bass bait we had brought with us The north end is still a question mark as some of the ice had broken up a week or two ago and reformed. Caution will be the watchword out there this weekend regardless of the weather report. Folks can't assume that the lake will be uniform thickness or that all areas will be safe. It is not a place for solo trips or without taking proper precautions. It sure did seem great to just get out there today though

I'll take 3 of them Luke. Send me your name/address by PM. I'll send a check as I don't do Paypal. Thanks. Les

Those snap caps remind me of the incredible beer we had in Germany for the three years I was there. There was one called Frankenthaler that would as one of my buddies used to say "knock your d..k into your shirt pocket" It had a grey scum on the head and they said that it was about 14 to 15 percent alcohol and it came in liter bottles.

WTG choo choo Fish of a life time for most folks out there and beautiful print

Nice work Jared. I'm still waiting for the ice to be right around here....but it is coming along.

WTG Dave. I used to run across them in the old days accidentally but never thought of using a call....time to get your gear ready for the ice though

Fleet you have a PM

The TD will help with temp/depth relationships but not down speed. They work well for that application and are very portable and nice for seeing how deep your wires coppers and leadcores are running along with the temps at those depths

Lakers have always loved FreshwaterSculpin so I imagine they would chow down on something that looks that close.

Fish Hawk X4D (new model with red screen not the blue screen which is the older one)

Thanks for the "reality check" Jim Lets hope that the cold temps projected for the next few days will firm things up enough.

King Slammin he didn't actually check out the ice itself....just a visual on it from his house located between north end and Trident. He is getting ready to move though so pretty busy right now. Finders Keepers that sounds like a good idea> Even in a good year things can be pretty precarious out there for machines and vehicles (someone goes through almost every year). A walkout would be the safest approach this year for sure.....hopefully be some good safe ice by then very cold temps projected for next week day and night

My son called this AM and said there was snow covering ice on the lake as far as he could see.

If we do get the opportunity to get out there for folks that are unfamiliar with the lake it has some particularly concerning aspects that you should be aware of - There are a number of small "runoff" type streams around the lake which may not be readily apparent (e.g. just to the north of the launch at the south end on the east shore) and usually there is a bubbler near Trident Marine that creates havoc at that access point. There are also random gas pockets which when snow covered can be a problem and dangerous. Sometimes ducks and geese keep open spots out there that may freeze over eventually and may be much thinner than the surrounding ice and may be difficult or impossible to spot when snow covered. I am not trying to unnecessarily scare anyone and hope to be out there myself but being safe is of the utmost importance and regardless of how experienced someone may be (or think themselves to be) regarding ice conditions you can still be "had" out there. For example currents can and do move under the ice and may originate a long way away from that site and out of range of visibility and yet "saw" it thin from underneath. After going through in just such a circumstance in the past up to my chin and with nobody around I can tell you 33 degree water is no fun. If you have a float suit or life jacket etc. don't be hesitant or ashamed to wear it. Ice fishing is one of my favorite methods of having fun and I've done it for most of my life but these days I have a deep respect for when things don't go as planned. My son just called and said that he can see open water with white caps from near the north end to the south well past Trident so this wind sure isn't helping us out.

Don't give up yet....remember Honeoye 's maximum depth is about 30 ft. with much of the lake 12-18ft. We are supposed to have real cold weather this week and there is already some ice on the lake. It is usually the first Finger Lake around here to fully freeze. Although the next ten days are currently projected to be pretty cold for the most part there is snow forecast as well and rain on a couple days with temps just over freezing then. The wind speed/direction may well play a major role especially nights but once things fully setup so that the wind can't work any open areas ice can still form underneath.

I hear ya Andy.