The Lake Where You Live

How are the ice conditions on your lake? Here on Birch I would have to say it’s sound, but very thin for this time of year.

In my 10-plus years living here year-round I’ve come to expect two feet of ice by early March, maybe two and a half, and possibly getting thicker if the weather stays cold. This year we have, at best, 10 inches of ice. I know from drilling holes for fishing.

Other years at this time the auger went down, down, and down some more before punching through to crystal water. During one especially cold winter, anglers on some lakes were bolting the extensions onto their ice drills to keep from bottoming before breaking through.

Under those conditions, catch-and release fishing is interesting. Once placed back in the hole, the fish has to orient itself and then swim vertically to escape. Now after drilling a hole and sitting down on my red cooler, I can see the bottom of the ice. When I put a bluegill or crappie back, it’s a couple of tail slaps and the fish is gone down below.

Meanwhile the freeze-thaw cycles — 60 degrees on day, 20 the next — have created some winter music. On a warm day the ice expands. On a cold day it contracts. I can hear the Birch Lake ice boom from inside the house even with the windows closed. Taking my walks along the two roads I hear the booming even from the roadside ponds barely big enough to be called lakes. 

One thing is certain: People are treating this with due caution. I’ve seen no cars or truck on our lake. A few brave anglers get about on four-wheelers, but how long before conditions are unsafe for even those fairly lightweight vehicles?

In fact, I have to wonder how long this relatively fragile ice will last. On several days I’ve seen pools of melt water on its surface. 

If there’s a shoreline spring bubbling into a lake, chances are a patch of water will be open there.

Years ago I gave up trying to predict the day of ice-out. Usually, as when the ice reaches two or two-and-a-half-feet thick, I’m overly pessimistic, fearing the lake won’t open until mid-May. This year I could envision ice-out well before the end of March (and just as easily be proven wrong).

Ice-out, after all, is entirely weather dependent. Warm days, wind and rain will hasten the thaw. Cold days and colder nights will retard it. And it’s impossible to know what’s coming: weather forecasts more than seven to 10 days out are worth roughly the paper they’re printed on.

In my tenure as a full-time Birch Lake resident, the earliest ice-out has been March 30, three years ago. 

In case you’re wondering, the latest was May 7, in 2018. This year, we’ll see. I must say, though, I have enjoyed recent days of ice fishing in weather I can call comfortable.

Ted Rulseh is a writer, author and lake advocate who lives on Birch Lake in Oneida County. His new book, “Ripple Effects,” has been released by UW Press. You can learn about it by visiting his website at https://thelakeguy.net.