Mild Winter? Early ice out??

[MikeF-NH]

I don't make it anywhere near the lake during winter but am usually one of the first boats in the water in the Spring (many times before Ice Out is declared).

I have been watching the lake cams and tracking the very mild winter we had until very recently and am wondering if anyone can provide thoughts about ice conditions on the lake as it pertains to ice out. It seemed that we were still in January and had large areas of open water that just ice in recently.

Are your observations that we have less ice than normal on parts of the lake and that (if the mild patters persist) we might see ice out even before April 1? Or did the recent cold stretches catch the ice up and we are close to normal icing conditions?

[Winilyme]

Please oh please everyone - say “early ice out for sure”. The only ice I’m ever interested in seeing is the cubes chilling my tea as I sit on the dock on a sunny 85 degree day watching the boats go by. I’m feeling the fever coming on.

[ishoot308]

Hi Mike,

In my opinion and for what that’s worth, my thought and hope is we should be fishing April 1st if the month of March is as mild as predicted.

The ice is probably thickest right now but the mild weekend and upcoming temps and longer days will be working on what little ice we have. When it does start to go, it’s gonna go quick!

That’s my thoughts and hopes!😁

Keep your fingers crossed!

Dan

[MikeF-NH]

Dan...you always know just the right thing to say!!!! I have reached that point of winter where I'm ready to see the ice and snow melt and call the dealer to get the boat out of storage and ready to go

[MAXUM]

For what it's worth, in a typical winter I would generally see 18 as much as 36" of ice in front of my place by this time. This morning measured 9" and change. This was one of the last places to lock up.

That certainly would indicate early ice out is possible.

[boat_guy64]

It has been a mild winter but the ice formed differently than other years from my viewpoint on Meredith Bay. That said, we had a lock up across Meredith Bay (about 3000 feet of ice from my shore to the shore across the bay) earlier than any years in the past 15 I've lived here. I've seen it lock up as late as Jan 15 and this year it locked up on December 21. I anticipated it was just skim ice but it held together and never went away. Even the frigid year of two years ago with record below 0 temps in mid December did not lock up until December 28. However, I'm sure that sustained cold is a much larger influencer on the ice.

[Hillcountry]

I hope you are correct and my fingers are crossed.

Don't worry...Dan is always right! ;)

[joey2665]

I recently spoke to a meteorologist that works for the federal government and feeds forecasts to local stations in New York. She told me that she does not see any prolonged cold spells for the rest of the season however there will be above average precipitation


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[Descant]

I recently spoke to a meteorologist that works for the federal government and feeds forecasts to local stations in New York. She told me that she does not see any prolonged cold spells for the rest of the season however there will be above average precipitation

I haven't looked lately. Isn't that what the Old Farmer's Almanac printed last fall?

[Hillcountry]

Someone posted these on another forum. The good ol’ days!

[Hillcountry]

I have no idea why these come out sideways sometimes....:confused:

[joey2665]

I haven't looked lately. Isn't that what the Old Farmer's Almanac printed last fall?

I do not follow the farmers almanac my information came from a meteorologist from Brookhaven Labs that works directly for the US Government and she feeds forecasts to local stations in New York and Long Island

[upthesaukee]

I thought they were standing on a steep bank on the lake. :):rolleye2:

Dave

[ishoot308]

Don't worry...Dan is always right! ;)

I keep telling my wife that but it never goes over well! :D:D

[Hillcountry]

I keep telling my wife that but it never goes over well! :D:D

:D:D:D

In case you hadn’t heard yet Dan...

[Andromeda321]

I was up last weekend by the lake, and went skiing Sunday at Gunstock so got to see the entire lake. At our place in Moultonborough I saw an ice house off of Wallace Island and snowmobilers running between Blueberry and Black Cat, so clearly it's as solid as ever. (I didn't venture out myself.) From Gunstock, I was surprised to see the entire lake frozen over that you can see from up there (it definitely wasn't last time I skied there MLK weekend) but there were giant cracks and random dark patches that I wouldn't expect to see late February.

I also put an ice out date before the earliest ever a few years ago, so you can tell what I'm thinking. It's not going to be a good summer for anyone who dislikes bugs and ticks I think.

[ishoot308]

:D:D:D

In case you hadn’t heard yet Dan...

I saw that! What an unbelievable catch!

Here’s the real interesting thing to note...I bet that fish was swimming when the previous state record was caught 62 years ago! I can’t say that for sure but wouldn’t doubt it a bit. I hope the F&G biologist get involved to give us all a little more info on this fish, especially the age!

What a great trophy catch!

Dan

[AC2717]

where was that caught in NH? in Winni?

[ishoot308]

where was that caught in NH? in Winni?

Good luck getting that info publicly!!

[Hillcountry]

Good luck getting that info publicly!!

Yes they are tight lipped about these things but...the same guy that caught that near record laker “up north” caught a 16 pounder on Winni yesterday!
It’s on the FB “ice fishing nh” page!

Posted with the gentleman’s permission.

[fatlazyless]

..... story in Feb 27, Conway Daily Sun: 'Monster record lake trout caught in NH' includes a color photograph.

In the article a state biologist says this fish was probably born like 50-60 years ago, maybe when Lyndon Johnson was the president in the 1960's, and it is the largest lake trout ever caught in all six new england states ….. so's how about that!

So, what happened to 'catch and release' ……. aren't big fish like this supposed to get released back in after you photo it with your phone camera and post it on winnipesaukee.com! Where's the catch and release, here! … :eek:

You can see someone smiling in the photo, but it ain't the fish that's smiling!

[ishoot308]

Well I wasn’t too far off, according to NHF&G biologist, that record laker recently caught is estimated to be between 50 and 60 years old!

Dan

[Lakegeezer]

Happy Leap Day. This year, we have extra day to put in a guess for Winnipesaukee.com's ice-out contest. Link is here (https://www.winnipesaukee.com/contests/2020/)

[macbeth]

:D:D:D

In case you hadn’t heard yet Dan...

And I Truly feel after fishing Winni for 50 years there are much bigger Lake Trout in Winni then this one.

[Hillcountry]

And I Truly feel after fishing Winni for 50 years there are much bigger Lake Trout in Winni then this one.

Yes...who knows what the depths hold??? (evil laugh) :D

[fatlazyless]

Google this: 'Ice Fishing is Fun!' March 4, 2020: NY Times, for a photo story from Silver Lake in Madison, NH.