Minnesota Waterfowl Hunting

Checked my local spot was hoping to get out on foot one last time...Amazing how much water opened up. I thought the cooler temps maybe helped but water temp must have skyrocketed, there's more open water now than when it was 60. Next year I guess

It's amazing how a couple hours north is so different. Still trucks out on most lakes up here and shorelines are in great shape. Making ice this week.

Gonna ice fish Saturday then hopefully get the boat out on the big pond Sunday if I can get it out of my dads storage building. I heard the cohos have been snapping.

Nice fish mlds.

Good luck! It is crazy, planning one more trip up. Prolly the 17th, hopefully the water warms some more. Was going to go the 24th but I don't want to risk the ice cause the gf is taking off work, would hate to not be able to get on the ice

Even with teens the last 2 mornings - open water this afternoon on the north shorelines with the sunshine.

Water warm up more? That doesn't happen until the ice is gone.

Wasn't able to get the boat out due to a bank from the snow plow blocking access to the pole building. Big pannies got a lip piercing this weekend. Ice is holding strong. Temps are dropping later this week. We should be ice fishing through March if the weather trend continues.

Actually the water temp it does warm up, especially on shallower darker colored bottom lakes in the WSW of Mn when the snow melts it runs across the dark warm top soils as it heads for the lakes and creeks.

Medicine lake in plymouth at 3PM this afternoon. Open water, ice and open water in the east side. It'll be gone by tomorrow with the warm temps and very strong winds.

When lakes are still fishable in the spring the water temp is essentially the same as it is in the middle of the winter. Do water temps warm once the ice pulls away from the shore and the sun starts beating on the bottom after a lake no longer has fishable ice? Sure a little. Small creeks also have little to no affect on temps when the ice is still fishable. Point is water temp has nothing to do with good late ice bites. Dissolved oxygen and prespawn feed bags triggered by sunlight hours are what fire up the fish.

Rice lake in Maple Grove pretty much off today

Starring Lake and Mitchell Lake in Eden Prairie are ice free as of yesterday.

Lake Minnewashta went out earlier today. Looking south from the park towards hwy 5

But Lower Minnetonka still has a fair amount of ice yet. At Excelsior commons looking North towards Big Island.
With the temps forecast to be single digit lows, I doubt Lake Minnetonka will be ice free for another 8-10 days.

And being so cold, honeycomb ice will likely be solid come Sat AM. So I bet the guys will be out in central Mn this weekend yet.