Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How many inches do you have?

We only had an inch of fresh snow but with the high winds we had whiteout conditions this morning. While I was blowing out the driveway so the wife could get to school I heard an ambulance which indicates another accident on the highway. Sure enough traffic was backed up for over 2 hours.

We average 1 accident a day on this highway when it snows, floods, or drifts from high winds. Massive farm fields with nothing to stop the snow from blowing across the highway. There's one particularly bad stretch about 100 yds. long that would benefit tremendously by a snow fence.

According to friends in the area the ice is 35" on Devils Lake, ND. Giant YP are biting like fiends. They couldn't recall ice over 40" and they have been there since before Devil's Lake became the huge lake that it is today.

We lived about a 100 miles (1 hour or less in those days) from Devil's Lake (the town) in the early 1970s. At that time the lake was a slough.

Well maybe the guys that made our holes with the power augers were exaggerating for our benefit? I do know the augers bottomed out with an extension whatever that is. I didn't get the tape out to verify or anything as it was thicker than anything I had ever seen.

I do know I took pictures. I'll see what I can dig up.

Found out there was five car pile up and a power line pole had to be replaced. That particular section of the highway was closed for about 6 hours with a detour. Sure glad my wife had a school delay or she could have been in the pile up.

We get accidents on this stretch of highway ever year due to a huge open field blowing on to the highway. Seems a snow fence or something could be installed.

It was a blizzard this morning with only a couple hundred feet of visibility, unless you were in one of the white out's.

Had to navigate by GPS coming up to a 4 way stop that I go thru every morning. Couldn't see a darn thing!

It ain't over...

Ugg tried to make it to Toronto yesterday. Left at 8:00am made it to woodstock about 45 mins out then had to turn around. Got turned around then right in front of us there was a 8 car wreck two tractor trailers and one fatality. Grid lock with no way out for 2.5 hours. Driving in the snow squalls home got back at 3:00pm. Pulling about 1200#s on my 18 foot deck over.

Have to plan on the trip next week now.

We got lucky the 400 had 85 car pile up.

Will drill a hole lat today see what we have. -33c over night crazy fing cold. Global warming my A$$.

Cheers Don.

Well this won't cheer you up Don.

90 day outlook:




Of course I've seen them wrong on extended outlooks like this, but apparently somebody thinks we will be locked in a pattern of mild air up the west coast pushing down cold air in central Canada, and the U.S. If this holds I don't see ice out even down here until April, which is unusual for us.

If this does hold I hope the jet stream is not positioned so above average temps in the south collide with below average temps up north. If so, we could be in for a prolific tornado season. OTOH if the jet streams stays south we may be in for a very calm tornado season up here with below average temps.

Spring is no longer on the horizon. 28.5 inches.

We built another 2.5 inches of ice since last weekend. That blew right through the old record with every night below zero and days not a lot better. Temperatures going forward look the same: -6F tonight, -15F tomorrow night and -16F on Sunday night.

My auger will go to 36 inches without an extension so I have that going for me.

There are no auger extension shafts in my future, needed or not.

So total inches is...?

So total inches is...? 28.5 inches, Yikes!

Just had a reliable source tell me a local lake has 24 1/2 inches on it. Says he's catching perch in only 3 feet of water on this lake. Not a good sign.

Our INDNR is predicting fish kills. Really?

There will be plenty of fish kills this year.

MDNR equates this winter back to the mid 90's when a lot of inland lakes and streams froze for an extended period producing numerous fish kills. Feb. is the critical month.

The 3 ponds here have been plugged off since early December when this mess really started around here. One down the road is open with a diffuser.

It will be interesting to see what transpires after it's all melted.

We have 24"s of good solid ice.

Cheers Don.

Nice thing around here is Lake Michigan is much more open than the chicken little's have been proclaiming on the web. We may get a bit of Spring!

Just think, we'll have to go thru this again, soon!

I wonder which scientist is pushing the weather buttons? They may need a control systems upgrade

O.K. Cecil. Since I'll be drilling holes to check ice in my pond tomorrow, I'll run to the lake house and check there too.

Since I have relatively sharp blades on my auger, it will take longer to drive there than it will take to cut the hole. (Unlike a taxidermist I know.... )

O.K. rub it in!

IF you remember last year how the super cold air was slumped over the other side of the north pole down as far as England?
They had snow in England that was the worst in 60 years. This super cold air is slumped off center of the north pole and wobbling around the north ice cap. Seems to be the trend but could be a very good indication the climate is changing but nothing we have not seen before.

Cheers Don.

We have much different weather here than you fine people up in the frozen tundra.

Today it will get to about 56 degrees. Its already 45 and really nice out.

Tomorrow it will snow, a winter storm warning is calling for 5 to 8", then tomorrow night it will drop to about 7 deg.

Hows that for a fast change in the weather? That's almost a 50 deg change in less than 2 days.

Yeah the extremes are annoying. I'd rather have it continuosly cold. After our last thaw the snow that is left is as hard as ice. Got about three inches fresh snow last night. Now we go back in the deep freeze again until next weekend.

Cecil, the State still has not been able to stock the ponds around here here with trout. They are a month late. I know you said the trout are just getting bigger. I'm ready. And so is my fryin' pan.

They could be as much as an inch and a half bigger per month, which can add a lot of weight once they get to be a certain size!

Our average high for this time of year is 44°F, and our low is 28°F. We are not even getting close to our average lows. Right now it's 17°F out and is supposed to get below 0°F tonight.

I was reading a DNR fishing report this morning.
SOUTHWEST LOWER PENINSULA
Shallow and weedy lakes are starting to show signs of poor dissolved oxygen. Fish are becoming lethargic and suspending higher in the water column. Try fishing a few feet below the ice.

If your pond needed a stocking redo, this winter may be a blessing in disguise. I know my bosses 3 acre pond needs one. The guy who stocked it put in pretty much everything but WE and Trout. Said the trout would not survive and the WE would eat everything. But then he stocked NP, LMB, SMB, CC along with sunfishes and YP. The YP seem to be gone, and there is an abundance of bullhead now.

Was just told by someone that had friends come back from Devil's Lake you now need TWO extensions to get through the ice up there. Thickest they've seen it in years.

Just checked today. 14.5", the thickest I've seen on my pond. Cecil, I didn't try to set a speed record, but I'll bet it took less than a minute for me to get the hole cut with the Lazer hand auger.

Good for you Scott. You probably have more weight to bear down on it too.