Mantua ice and fishing report

[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Thought I'd give Mantua a try this morning. Took my irrigation boots thinking that I would be standing in ankle deep slush but was surprised to find that the slush had frozen overnight. The ice is about 10 inches thick, the lower 4 inches being clear and solid while the upper 6 inches is refrozen slush. Very easy walking. For the time being, and I can't predict how long it will last, the ice appears safe and strong. After drilling the first hole I had no anxiety about falling through.

Fishing was slow. Started in about 8 feet of water out from the boat ramp and progressively worked eastward a couple of blocks to 14 ft of water. Only caught a couple of small bluegill that I returned to the reservoir. They hit my ice jigs right near the bottom. Had a few other very soft bites and that was all. I left at 11:00 a.m. while the ice (slush layer) was still firm but starting to soften. Didn't see anyone else fishing on the reservoir.
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[wiperhunter2]

It's pretty amazing how Mantua keeps it's ice under such warm conditions. We hit it the week before you and the frozen slush was 5" thicker than what you saw on your outing but the solid clear ice was the same. If these condition continue it won't last much longer though. Glad you were able to get out and catch some fish there, might be the last ice fishing report we get from that lake. Good move getting off the ice when you did, we waited until 1pm and that slush layer had turned to mush and the walk out was a lot harder than the walk in[crazy].
WH2
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[SkunkedAgain]

Nice report, hard to believe it's still fishable... Wonder if Saturday will still be safe? I seen a lot of open water on the east end by the inlet last night, started to wonder if it was toon time up there... Always lots of things to consider, thanks for letting us know what's happening there... Later J
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[lavaman]

Anyone have new reports on how that ice is holding up? (or NOT holding up?)
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[10_ft_Jon_boat]

Drove by Mantua this afternoon (Sunday) and the ice is completely gone. There were about a half dozen people fishing from the dike on the west side.
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[gstott]

Now that's what I like to hear. A shame the weather is going to turn cool again, that will slow things down, but it's a step in the right direction.
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