If your planning on fishing the south shore this weekend please be advise of the conditions. Though ice is safe in most places, with 6 to 7" of black ice and a layer of 1 to 2" of frozen snow ice on top. The rains from the last storm really opened old holes and has caused many spider cracks which as of today are still open. My concern is that with tomorrows snow storm these holes which some are as big as 2x3' will be covered by the snow. A couple years ago I pulled a buddy of mine out after he steped in one of these holes with out knowing. We had walked 20 times back and forth thru the area and then he just went thru. So please I do advise anyone heading out to head out with caution.

Tight Lines,

Roy L :salute:

just what ponds should we stay off ????royL :rotf2: same here on cape 3 maybe 4" if u r lucky w/ water on top .dont fish alone , and remember when fishing w/ me ufirst i'll follow....:uhuh:

Take heed everyone. I was out with my son on Saturday in the Franklin area.We walked a short way out and drilled though 10-12" of snow covered black ice, but water started gushing up through the hole and we had 3-4" of water around the hole pretty quickly.

I drilled another hole close by and found only 4"-5" of snow ice not far from the 10-12" of good ice. Needless to say we packed up everything and left without any incident, but it was a bit unnerving. There were many people out fishing that day, but I got a bad vibe just hitting that thinner spot amidst all the thick ice. Will try it again early next week after the 3-4 day deep freeze.

I've read 2-3" of clear ice is all that's needed to support an average size person, but that's really questionable, IMO. I would say at least 6-8" is my safe starting point. Its extra scary when there's snow cover because you don't know what's really underneath.

I'm simply afraid of ice even when there's two feet of it...I fell through once about 20 years ago and never forgot the terror of thinking I wasn't going to get out.

Will sure up quickly after this storm, below zero temps by Sunday morning.

Caution still warranted....

remember when fishing w/ me ufirst i'll follow....:uhuh:

I'm telling Larry at work to tie a rope to you

I just got off the ice over the bridge and lots of open water and edges are gone in some spots. It poored here all morning.

I only wish that there would be a safer way to find out if a pond or lake in spring fed and where the springs are located.
Fortunately for me I know all the ponds that I fish frequently, and know where the springs are (if there are any) and where there are inlets and outlets.
Remember that ANY moving water will erode ice from below.

The only real problem now is that most ponds have a good coating of snow, that was topped with a couple of inches of rain, which soaked through the snow. When you walk out, you will be pleased to encounter a crust (that MAY support your weight) and about 3-5inches of slush underneath. If we're lucky the deep freeze will help solidify the slush and provide some added support on the ice.

But this being New England, who knows what will happen?

Bottom line: Be smart and be safe!

One of the places I fish has a brook entering with water 2' deep you need to cross to get out to the main body. Brook is 500' away from where I was and barely trickling. Moving water under snow insulation is bad news.

This weekend I was walking back through this area and went right through. Was checking in front of me with the ax, just takes one step. I was well aware that this could happen and knew the water was shallow. Main body had 10" black ice with 4" snow ice, then snow on that.

Just another safety heads up - watch out for the coves with even a small 1' wide brook coming in.

i was on the ice (udl) big pond we had 5" of rock hard ice cold 10to15# n windy . sm ponds a little more, should b good after this cold spell . holes iced over fast...plus no snow on the ice .......YET.... the bite was ok.....

One of the dumbest things I see is people all crowding around a hole when the ice is borderline. Sure 4 good inches will hold a man but not 10 who all crowd around to see a catch when a flag goes up. Sometimes people don't use their heads at all. I knew a guy who ice fished almost every day of the winter for probably 35 years. One day he fell in , not even 10 feet from shore. To hear him tell the story he barely made it out. From that day forward he had the ice picks hanging around his neck.

Anyway , keep in mind that safe ice for spread out people is not nescessarily safe if everyone crowds around one area.