Ice Fishing Isn't Too Far Off..
Hello anxious ice anglers.
Iโve been taking a break from reporting fishing in Otter Tail Lakes Country.ย But now that weโve been having some cooler temps and our duck hunting season has closed, I thought Iโd give some guesses about when we might be able to start fishing on the ice.
Today and for the rest of the week, the temps look mild.ย In fact, we are getting heavy rain showers at the moment.ย Otter Tail Lakes Country had a dandy blizzard and cool temps 10 days ago, but 1/2 the snow has melted since then, and many of the large ponds and small lakes that had some ice are ice-free againโso weโve gone backwards. ย But donโt get too worried.ย The long-range forecast is for โnormal temps.โ
Normal temps in December mean single digits at night and that will freeze a lake.ย Of course, some of us would like to see an arctic blast, but weโll take what we can get.ย Three or four nights of single-digit temps will make 3 or 4 inches of ice on most lakesโso we icefishermen and women will cross our fingers.
My early guess is that weโll have our first fishable ice in about 2 weeks.ย Of course, first ice comes with a bunch of โcautions” and Iโll be making a big deal out of that when the time comes, but for now weโll just have to be patient a little longer.ย For those of you who still have boats outโgo fish!
Ross Hagemeister
Meister Guide Service
