We spent this afternoon checking ice conditions on Hamilton, Hills Creek, and Beechwood Lakes. Be aware that we have received a couple inches of snow and the lakes are all covered as well. Continued cold weather will keep the lakes in good shape for this weekend too. Share with your ice fishing friends!
Beechwood Lake-
1/20/17
Despite the rain and warmer temperatures, both Hills Creek Lake and Beechwood Lake remain in good shape. We will be checking Hamilton again tonight. On Tuesday, it still had 8", but rains brought the water levels up some and we lost the edges.
At Beechwood Lake, access was good at the boat ramp. There wa a little slush, and there is debris/mud in the ice for the first few feet. Past that, there is good clear ice. We marked just under 8" at every hole. The top layer is softer junk, but beneath is good ice. Anglers have been catching some trout and a mix of panfish.
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.
1/10/17 It was a miserable, brutally windy day of fishing at Hamilton Lake, but the fish were biting! Ice is in great shape! 8+ inches of good, black ice towards the dam. We did not check the upper end, but other anglers were fishing up that way. Some snow on the lake, but a lot has blown off. Today's warm temperatures will likely melt the rest. Wear your cleats! It is slick out there
1/6/17
We took a drive last night to check conditions on Beechwood Lake, Hamilton Lake, and Hills Creek Lake. Anglers were fishing all three these past few days, though ice conditions vary. With the current forecast, Hammond Lake and Cowanesque Lake should be fishable very soon. Its supposed to get down to 7 tonight and a high of 20 tomorrow. We will try to check both on Sunday.
Beechwood Lake-
We parked at the boat launch and found the edges in good shape. As of last night, there was about a 1/2 inch of snow and it was still coming down.
