Stupid question

[crewchief2]

I am pretty new to ice fishing, and was wondering how you guys deal with this much snow on top the ice? Thanks. c

[Mikey topaz]

Originally Posted by crewchief2

I am pretty new to ice fishing, and was wondering how you guys deal with this much snow on top the ice? Thanks. c

The right to do it is scout the place before the snow to check the ice and kinda learn what areas are good and what areas to stay away from... as long as the thickness is consistent all around and there’s no sketchy spots your good to go.

If you didn’t have time to scout it out I would spud and take your time with your safety gear on and scout the area out you are about to fish. When’s there’s this much snow it can be helpful to bring a shovel and once you drill a hole shovel the spot so your tip up sits nice on the ice. Pullin the sleds in this stuff literally sucks on ice! Take your time don’t kill yourself. Best of luck

[icebadger]

As mikey said the snow can be a pain in the butt pulling a bunch of gear across the ice gets to ya after a while so you might want to fish close to where you get on. you should have good waterproof boots as the snow is wet when you drill a hole the water comes up through the hole and makes slush around the hole. you will have less problems as the snow refreezes however. The ice will be thicker and you better have sharp blades or your day is going to be a long one good luck and be safe.

[Gerry Zagorski]

You might want to check our this upcoming webinar https://www.njfishing.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=114724

[crewchief2]

Guys, thanks for all the info, luckily i do know where on the lake i want to fish, just have to drag the sled about 300 yrds.
I had checked it last Sunday and it was a bit sketchy for my liking, there was 3 inches of ice, with 6 or so inches of water on top then another 2 inches of ice. Looks like the wind probably had a lot to do with that. Looks like some good cold weather on the way next week or so. Thanks again, and everyone stay safe out there.

[Jigman13]

It's not a stupid question. Better to have asked then to have died and not asked!

If it was sketchy then it'll likely be sketchy now. 2+ ft of heavy, dense snow on top of sketchy ice equates to a substantial amount of weight applied to the surface of the ice. Quality, uniform black ice at 4" will theoretically hold around 700-800 lbs of load. 2" roughly 200 lbs (you wouldnt catch me on 2" ever--I have kids to take care of!). Consider the pressure the snow is putting on the ice on top of the lake's surface, too. Punch a hole to alleviate pressure and what happens? Pressure gets released i.e. water will be pushing up your hole.

Snow also insulates whatever black ice is below. While it may not melt as a direct result of said snow insulation, it'll inhibit the ice from growing. Furthermore, melt-off from the snow is obviously warmer than the ice underneath so it will deteriorate.

The ideal scenario is a bit of melt off yesterday, today and tomorrow followed by significant temp drops to freeze it all back together where you end up with a few inches of black ice followed by inches of gray ice and 'snow' ice.