Warm weather in southern ab this week, how safe will the ice be?

fisher69 · #1 03-05-2021, 02:44 PM

Hello fellow alberta fishers, I've done a lot of fishing over the years but this is my first year getting into ice fishing. I'm in lethbridge, and we've had pretty warm weather this week. I'm just not totally sure how the ice is going to be around here. I was thinking of going out to 40 mile again this weekend, it was well over a foot thick last weekend when i was there, but don't want to drive that far if its melted too much. Maybe I would just be better off going the opposite direction out to pincher or crowsnest area, as its still colder out that way? I do like the mountains a lot, especially in summer, but I always seem to have a pretty slow time out there going after trout. What do you guys think?

Poppa · #2 03-05-2021, 04:18 PM

as long as the overnight lows stay below 0, things should be okay for walking, but it really depends on how much ice there was to begin with. Next weekend is the end of ice season for most southern AB lakes. I'm hoping to get in one last weekend down south next Sat/Sun, but we'll see. There was 20"+ last weekend and with 2 weeks of sun and heat, it will be dicey for sure...

Reign_Man · #3 03-06-2021, 07:54 PM

Does anyone have any current ice thickness reports for Eagle Lake? I'm considering going there tomorrow?

mapleleafman3 · #4 03-06-2021, 09:36 PM

I was at McGregor and it has 2ft+ today. Little water on top but not bad.

cujo1969 · #5 03-06-2021, 11:00 PM

How was the fishing at mcgregor ?

Wes_G · #6 03-06-2021, 11:48 PM

St Marys today was a good 24" as well, but it was definitely not as hard as it was last weekend. Any holes that had been drilled in the last few days have not frozen back over and anywhere there was goose crap, it had melted down a good 4-5" into the ice. Wont be long.

no-regard · #7 03-07-2021, 09:51 AM

Apparently someone went through the ice in a City of Lethbridge lake yesterday. Gotta be getting thin quick, it's been so nice outside!

mapleleafman3 · #8 03-07-2021, 10:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cujo1969

How was the fishing at mcgregor ?

Nothing great but I'd say typical of late season McGregeor. A few small pike and a few walleye. Was only three from around lunch till just after dark. Definitely better than it was when i was there in Jan.

Reign_Man · #9 03-07-2021, 12:51 PM

I'm at Eagle Lake right now and I just measured 26.5"-27"

nightcrawler · #10 03-07-2021, 04:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reign_Man

I'm at Eagle Lake right now and I just measured 26.5"-27"

Is it still possible to drive on, or should I pack my calf sled?

whitetail Junkie · #11 03-07-2021, 11:43 PM

I’m done...my stuff will be put away pretty soon.

fisher69 · #12 03-08-2021, 09:10 AM

well i was out at payne lake this weekend, still over a foot thick, but the ice seemed a bit different, when i cut into it, it came out in shards and in some cases a couple of big chunks came out. didnt' catch anything either. i think unless it gets cold this week i wont bother going out next weekend.

oh ya and i heard about that kid here in lethbridge. i guess it was a 12 year old that fell through one of the ponds in legacy park. glad to hear they made it out safely, but is there not 'ice unsafe' signs there like at every other lake in town? and i know the only lake the city ever officially said was safe was nicholas sheran, and that only lasted a week.

stein · #13 03-08-2021, 11:16 AM

our side by side went thru the ice south of brooks this weekend, after we got it retrieved, we walked on the remainder of the trip, 20-23" of ice we were finding, on Sunday there was an Olympic size pool in the middle with unreal amount of geese gathered around

alacringa · #14 03-08-2021, 06:33 PM

about 20" of ice at Travers on Sunday, but top 3-4" were white and ice at the edges of the lake was a bit rotten. I opted to walk out, and so did Fish and Wildlife.

old dog · #15 03-09-2021, 07:27 AM

The ice will be thick enough on most lakes, it will be about the quality of that ice and what the shorelines do. The shorelines pull in a lot of heat and thaw out the edges quickly.

Reign_Man · #16 03-09-2021, 11:03 AM

Planning on going to Spray Lakes this weekend. Any reports on ice thickness there? I've never been there and want to stay on thick ice.

anthony5 · #17 03-09-2021, 11:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fisher69

well i was out at payne lake this weekend, still over a foot thick, but the ice seemed a bit different, when i cut into it, it came out in shards and in some cases a couple of big chunks came out. didnt' catch anything either. i think unless it gets cold this week i wont bother going out next weekend.

oh ya and i heard about that kid here in lethbridge. i guess it was a 12 year old that fell through one of the ponds in legacy park. glad to hear they made it out safely, but is there not 'ice unsafe' signs there like at every other lake in town? and i know the only lake the city ever officially said was safe was nicholas sheran, and that only lasted a week.

Ice that's coming up in shards and chunks is starting to honeycomb (water melting through from top to bottom). 20 inches of ice in this condition can be unsafe to walk on.

TROLLER · #18 03-10-2021, 01:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reign_Man

Planning on going to Spray Lakes this weekend. Any reports on ice thickness there? I've never been there and want to stay on thick ice.

Spray is a good 30 inches and it usually fishes well into late april.