Willard Ice Check

[SkunkedAgain]

I stopped by Willard on the way home from work yesterday to see what was going on... I was surprised, it looked like the lake was open water, but it actually is capped... However, the ice is not very thick and rotten as all get out... Edge margins were open water, so I did the unpardonable and threw one rock on the ice... It didn't got through and it wasn't in a fishing area.  So I walked out the docks and then tried to put weight on the ice, it didn't hold much at all.  There is probably 1.5-2.5" at most and it's grey and soft.  If it turned really cold, it could recover, but I expect with the weather report it won't do that.. Kind of the worst of all conditions, too thick to take a boat and break it, but too thin to get on it... Guess the fish will get a break... BTW this is the north marina report... Keeping my fingers crossed, but not expecting much... Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

I stopped by Willard on the way home from work yesterday to see what was going on... I was surprised, it looked like the lake was open water, but it actually is capped... However, the ice is not very thick and rotten as all get out... Edge margins were open water, so I did the unpardonable and threw one rock on the ice... It didn't got through and it wasn't in a fishing area.  So I walked out the docks and then tried to put weight on the ice, it didn't hold much at all.  There is probably 1.5-2.5" at most and it's grey and soft.  If it turned really cold, it could recover, but I expect with the weather report it won't do that.. Kind of the worst of all conditions, too thick to take a boat and break it, but too thin to get on it... Guess the fish will get a break... BTW this is the north marina report... Keeping my fingers crossed, but not expecting much... Later Jeff

Thanks for checking it out Jeff. There is little hope things will improve, as you said, with the forecast for the next week only getting warmer.
https://www.ksl.com/weather/forecast/Ogden

[SkunkedAgain]

I did see a long term forecaster that predicts February is turning colder than normal, so maybe we'll get winter in February this year... They are saying around valentines day it may be getting down below zero again... Guess we'll see, but sounds like January will be a bust for ice fishing Willard...

[wiperhunter2]

I did see a long term forecaster that predicts February is turning colder than normal, so maybe we'll get winter in February this year... They are saying around valentines day it may be getting down below zero again... Guess we'll see, but sounds like January will be a bust for ice fishing Willard...

I hope that prediction turns out to be true, I haven't been out on the ice this Winter, so it would be nice to see it t colder, before it's over.

[SkunkedAgain]

Do I have a bad memory? or was last year a lot like this one? Seems like last year was on and off cold, but Willard had ice just after Christmas, then it melted off and warmed up and a couple weeks later it refroze and we were able to ice fish it again, then it stayed cold till April instead of melting out in March like usual... Seems like this year is starting to feel a lot like last year... But that assumes this weather guy is right... I'd kind of prefer the cold now and warming up in March, but I guess we'll get what we get... Later Jeff

[wiperhunter2]

Do I have a bad memory? or was last year a lot like this one?  Seems like last year was on and off cold, but Willard had ice just after Christmas, then it melted off and warmed up  and a couple weeks later it refroze and we were able to ice fish it again, then it stayed cold till April instead of melting out in March like usual... Seems like this year is starting to feel a lot like last year... But that assumes this weather guy is right... I'd kind of prefer the cold now and warming up in March, but I guess we'll get what we get... Later Jeff

In most years, it seems we have a Jan thaw, so IMO this is not unusual but what isn't normal is how long that thaw last, it seems to me, it has already lasted longer than normal.

[SkunkedAgain]

I just worry that nice now, might hurt us later... always hate the paybacks... but it has been a pretty mild winter so far... Just hope we get a nice spring when it's time... not in June... Later Jeff