Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Ice on ponds still hanging in there

Finally! The last of the ice left the pond today.

I live about 10 miles from esshup. Ice gone here too. No floaters. Happy is the word. I was getting worried with all the snow on the ice and the low water table.

We are still iced in pretty solid up here. Official "Ice free" day was March 21st last year.....so maybe the next 8 days or so will help. We are supposed to see some mild temps and a bit of rain this week.

I was out ice fishing on a small lake just 8 minutes down the road yesterday and there was a good 20" of ice there!

You must live in the Tropical part of Canada.

dap, how's the pond level? Some of the ponds along 30 to the West of you are full, but mine only came up 5".

I'm still down about 2 feet from where I would like the level to be but like we know its a water table pond and were at its mercy. Its been as much as 3 feet higher but that level is not sustainable. I was concerned about low O2 levels with the ice and snow cover we had and the length of time everything was covered. I did have my bubble stone running and had some open water most of the winter. I figured I was ok when things started to thaw and I would see thousands of minnows swimming around the edge of the pond. Since then I have been seeing a few BG too. Right now I am also up about 6-7 inches from where I was a couple weeks ago.

Yep, I know the feeling about groundwater ponds!
http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=248722#Post248722
Glad that your fish made it O.K.

Ice fishing has been closed by the owner at Bremer Pond. Mud tracking and ruts through the lawn, if you were going out there now. We still have plenty of ice, but I am pulling the pin for the winter. Normally I like to fish late ice, but enough is enough when it comes to this winter. Time to sharpen those spinnerbaits!

I went down last evening and turned on the circulator full time 24/7. Running it full time when the weather is warming seems to clear the ice a little faster. More importantly, it keeps the ice pack away from the Barge area.

I should mention that I drove the Mule part way and then walked the rest of the way. The ground is frozen with the top couple inches being slick a snot mud. Backing up, the Mule slid sideways down the bank into a couple feet of wet snow. An hour and a half later I finally got out.

So you eskimos get anxious for spring too eh?

I checked the 5 day forecast today for my land at Bowie. Friday the hi is forecasted to be 90. Be careful what you wish for. No significant moisture since 10/1/10.

Mule....Stuck? Say it ain't so!

The arctic is a brutal place!

Yep, and every year it seems to get a little snower and a little colder. This couldn't have something to do with age, could it?

Rained all last night here and never got anywhere near freezing (like they inaccurately promised). As a result, I woke up to find the ice completely gone from the pond!

Time to ready the structure/habitat and get the pump running.

Could be the arctic oscilation is in a phase where it's dipping farther south than usual.

Unfortunately we seem to be in a negative arctic oscillation which has shifted more cold air and moisture south, we need more positive AO.

There must be an echoe in here.

Hey, be happy I didn't bring up Lunar and Solar cycles, not to mention the dreaded MMGW.

That's true. With you I was expecting the dreaded GWC!

Still iced in here in Ann Arbor. Hopefully the next few days will chase it away. Lots of rain has brought the pond back to full pool. The ice jacked up the dock for a couple of days, but it settled back down.

Hey Coach, if your having problems with ice around your dock try a small submersible pump.
I mounted a 20 watt pump on an 8 inch platform to keep it off the bottom, then put it under the front of the dock, it's worked great.

How safe is the ice around it? I thought about doing that, but was concerned about the open water and ice thickness. When does the ice head out for you and the floating islands rise?

Yeah I can see your concern about ice safety, I've been on the ice a couple feet away from the hole with no problem but it's only 4 ft. deep, and the pump directs a stream of water straight up from the bottom instead of a aerator with lots of bubbles in a wider pattern, the famous " it all depends" probably applies.

The pond has never had ice-out earlier than April and the islands don't reach full floating height till May.

Did you ever decide to build a floating island?

It's 68 F. today with the wind howling to 35 mph. The big pond being in the open will have it's temps increase dramatically.

One day a few years ago with similar conditions, but a little warmer in the 70's, the pond went from some remnant ice to 50 F. by afternoon from top to bottom! I kid you not! That's how exposed this pond is to the wind.

I fed the larger perch in the large pond today even with temps dropping again. They seem to be cruising the shorelines at about 4 feet probably nailing small bluegills. (I had some female gills escape a cage last year.)