1/13/17 ICE UPDATE. After the rain!
Hills Creek is in good shape. Anglers were fishing off the Beaver Huts end this morning. Edges are pretty solid. We marked about 6" of good ice at the Pines launch. Watch for old holes that opened up and refroze. Lots of water drained off the lakes yesterday with this rain.
Over on Hamilton Lake, water levels came up and the ice sheet is inaccessible. Reports from customers this morning indicated that the edges were starting to refreeze, but it is very thin. This will be unfishable today for sure. Unlikely tomorrrow, but possibly Sunday, it will be fishable again if water levels come down and it stays cold. The ice at the boat launch will not be good with that much water dumping in.
Post video, we did get a report from Beechwood Lake from one of our customers- water levels came up considerably, and again, it is refreezing. The ice was accessible off the mooring wall. There it was about 7". The shoreline has 5-10 feet of frosted over water around the rest of the lake. As the lake comes back down and the edges refreeze, it will be in better shape. Possibly tomorrow or Sunday, we will be able to fish, if it stays cold.
Where ever you go, be sure to check ice conditions yourself before venturing out and to use this for reference only. Again, there will be thin spots and varied ice conditions. A spud bar will quickly tell you if you're stepping onto good ice.
Good luck and be safe out there!