I'd like to say welcome to canislupusarctos. I've loved following your blogs and photos at silentforest. I'm one that told you much earlier in the year I loved your photos from Mt. Washington, especially the fox photos. Good to see you here and I love looking at the Black cat webphotos. Thanks for your photos.

Was out on Lake Wentworth today, ice is between 9-10" thick.

More good news for the Derby
 

From yesterdays Citizen....

http://www.citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll...268/-1/CITIZEN

Ice
 

Was in Wolfeboro yesterday. South Wolfeboro bay near grant island. Was surprised to find that from monday to Saturay only 4 more inches of ice. Maybe I'm naive. Was told once that with temps like we had last week ice should be thickening at teh rate of 2" each night. Anyway, we had between 6 and 8 inches of ice. Unfortunately the earlier break up of broads ice resulted in a massive pile up of ice chunks at the entrance to South Woleforo Bay making for NASTY travel trying to leave the bay to head for wolfeboro bay or anywhere else. Our group of if ice fishermen will be contained to South Wolfeboro bay next weekend unless we get a good 6 inches of wet snow before then. We did sled throuh the chunk field and the ice appeared very solid on the other side. No reason to beleieve there isn't 6 inches of ice throughout wolfeboro bay, but as always test the ice before going out. Don't take this post as gospel that Wolfeboro Bay is safe to drive sleds on.

Hi all,
lot's of fishers on Meredith bay today and there is a new fish
that they are all catching, it's called a squat fish!

good news is good ice!

Maxum, do you wish the Wentworth derby?

Steadyon

What in the world is a "squat fish"?

I think he means...
 

...that they didn't catch squat!!

BT

What is aaaa!
 

So, has Ice-In been officially declared yet? All reports I have heard from pilots says lake is locked up.

Alton Bay on 01-28-07
 

Here's a picture of the activity on the bay Sunday afternoon. There were some snowmobiles running around, and more bob houses out by Echo Point. Also, heard that there was an airplane landed on the bay on Saturday the 27th.:eek: . Hope it also had pontoons.:laugh:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...-bobhouses.jpg

Oh, and as a point of information for ice fishermen (and ice fisherwomen), you can get Live Bait at Amylynne's in the bay, easy walking distance from the boat launch area in the bay. Bait shop is off the little parking lot next to the store, and if no one is in the bait shop, just go in the store and they will be out to help.

Ice-In?
 

Are there records kept for official ice-in? If yes, how does this year's measure up to the others?

On a road trip to Rochester and back I stopped at Meredith Bay to take some pictures this morning (see below.) In Alton Bay I was surprised to find a couple of cars and trucks out there in the middle.

South of Black Cat there was a little bit of thawing in the usual rift between the shore and Black Cat Shoals, especially late in the afternoon when a lead tried to open up, but sunset put a quick end to that idea. It's now 18 and plummeting after a high of 31. Seen today: Two snowmobiles riding north of Bear Island, then between Three Mile and Pine, and on to Center Harbor at what looked like 90-100 mph. Otherwise no human activity out there.

The Weathercam (www.blackcatnh.com) now has a time-lapse feature that shows approximately 4.5 hours in 3-minute increments. It makes changes in the ice much easier to see. Click on "Previous images" and then find the timelapse link in the upper right.

Thanks for the pics
 

Canislupusarctos...can't thank you enough for the great photos. I may not be traveling the furthest for the Derby but I must be close. I'm hosting a large crowd and if it wasn't for your pictures and the reports on this thread I would be a lot more nervous about planning winter activities given the northeast's warm temps earlier inthe year.

How embarassing! :rolleye1: I get it now, hardy har har :laugh:

Awesome pictures, you guys and gals have really come through for us who aren't there to enjoy the ice. I'll be up there on saturday though!

Cattle Landing?
 

Anyone have a report for the south side of Bear Island through Cattle Landing? Wondering if there were fisherman and sleds around there this past weekend.

Thanks!

Great feature Wolfman! I checked it out yesterday after we went for a walk around the island and caught ourselves crossing the path of your cam sometime around noon.

On Saturday a bobhouse was set up in Meredith off of Neal Shore Road. The guys were out there for a good part of the day but I didn't see any fish. I also saw two snowmobiles go zipping by heading to Gilford.
Hopefully the nights will be very cold and the ice will keep getting thicker.
Stay safe all.

...afaIk
 

...hi Mink Islander....saw two sleds skim around the inside of Horse Island which has water and slush in the short distance between Horse Island and Meredith Neck. Otherwise, about five inches of ice thickness is what I am seeing close to shore. The town bubbler is running strong at the Cattle Landing dock. So far, no bob-houses and no fisherman or anyone except for the two sleds are out on the ice in this area, afaIk.

Wolfeboro Ice Pile Up
 

Here's a shot of the ice conditions just south of Wolfeboro Bay. It seems that when those heavy winds broke up the ice a while back, the chunks landed here and froze in place. It's a nasty ride across it. About 150 yards long. Forget towing a sled full of ice fishing gear across this. It completely cuts off South Wolfeboro Bay.
http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopo...ield3x400w.JPG

We need some snow to cushion the ride over this field.

Thanks FLL
 

Appreciate the update.

I am going to Mark either Thursday or Friday by airboat, I can give you an update or a lift if you need it. Most likely Friday.

Airboat
 

Thanks for the offer. Won't be up 'til Saturday, though. I enjoy the hike. I'll definitely be interested in any ice report. Hoping to have at least 7-8" by then.

M.I.

The long term forecast is calling for some snow this Friday!

19 Mile Bay - 01/28/2007
 

10 inches of ice as reported by an ice fisherman. It was a beautiful day yesterday. Here's a few pics.

Is anyone else suprised to see so many cars and trucks out there with only 10" of ice? I never go out with my truck unless I have at least 14-15" and thats the LEAST.

A TV news van in Milwaukee found out the hard way today of the dangers of thin ice when they fell through, ironically while doing a story on the dangers of snowmobiling on ice...:laugh:

http://www.wmur.com/video/10869522/index.html

Ice Thickness and Strength
 

According to this chart 10" of "clear and sound" ice will hold a 7 to 8 ton moving truck: http://www.mvp-wc.usace.army.mil/ice/ice_load.html

Things that go bump in the night
 

In the pale blue moonlight, Lake Winnipesaukee's ice pack is making noises that sound much like the distant but frequent rumbles of an approaching severe thunderstorm in summertime. The sound begins at one end of the pack, over by Moultonborough Neck or Bear Island, then travels up towards Center Harbor over a period of about 5 seconds, and in the opposite direction as well. It reverberates off all the shores and echoes through the air above. It makes me think I'm going to see lightning, but with the air so dry I am getting static zaps of almost cardiac-defibrillation quality.

No visible melting at Black Cat today except as caused by nearby dock circulator, and the wind picked up, which caused the even covering of (insulating) snow to get blown into a patchwork of bare spots and drifts. Now we're down to +6 under clear skies and nearly-calm wind.

Ambrose Angler, I'm glad to know I'm of help to you. Have a safe trip to the derby!

Gatto Nero, I'm glad you made it all the way around the island on the ice! I was still giving it a bit more time- not believing it would be "ready" after just a week. Unbelievable!

I can almost hear Bob Seger singing about it:

It was 18, the winter day was fair
The lake was frozen, solid everywhere
Like a rock...

Pine Island Cam
 

Looks like a pair of Merganzers paddling around the open water.

Actually, we did have one scare, and it happened to be right in front of you're cam. We ventured over to the shoal to check out the pile up of ice and as we got about 3' from it we heard an enormous crack. I'm guessing we had stepped on a spot that had ridden up the rock, leaving no water underneath as a foundation. Regardless, we all stopped dead in our tracks and retreated back to towards shore in a hurry. Thankfully the rest of the trip was non-eventful.

That is a very cool site. Thanks for the information.

You've discovered the odd ways the ice behaves around Black Cat Shoals. I think you were probably fine, since it's been cracking and booming a lot lately during the thickening process. Don't lose that fear you mentioned though. The outermost part is a bedrock ledge that rises gently from the west and touches the surface with the top of a 12-foot underwater cliff facing east. That thing is a trap in all seasons. I've unofficially named it "Mousetrap Ledge." (come over some Saturday afternoon this summer and we'll see boats hit it...)

In winter there is typically a rift in the ice that forms between the ledge and the south tip of the island. It behaves like a geological fault line - creating "mountains" in some seasons, and looking more like the San Andreas in other seasons. Come spring, the rift opens into a lead, then the shoals, and then ice-out is usually within two weeks. In the warm winters we've had lately (example- 2002), the water around Mousetrap never froze, and the remainder of the shoals was only iced-over on the coldest days.

In a normal winter it's just as you say - the ice gets pushed up into hollow mountains with a watery crevasse hidden underneath. Fun fun fun!

When you walked past Black Cat's bridge, how was the ice underneath? I keep forgetting to stop on the bridge and check. If it's frozen its a *very* good sign for the rest of the ice in the area.

I have such good friends
 

My good friend (DBA's husband) did something out there today... (he is out on the island with the airboat today... reports some quality ice). I expect he unplugged the power to the webcam system and plugged it back in again.

Check out Snake Eyes which is back in operation!!!!


Yay, Thanks, Father Nuke!!!

IG

We wary of fishermen measuring
 

Which kind of ruler did they use. Hopefully not the one they use to measure the fish:laugh:

Snake Eyes ... YES!!
 

It's great to have Snake Eyes back!!

Is that you, JTA
 

I see some people are nuttier than others!!! lol ;)

Almost looks like mid-winter now...
 

Last night's low of +2 and today's high of 16 on Black Cat have undoubtedly strengthened the ice further. This afternoon I found Charlie Coffin's amazing bobhouse set up on Center Harbor Bay (for more about Charlie, see http://www.thesilentforest.com/journ...lescoffin.html) so that's another good sign winter is definitely here.

Also seen today on Center Harbor Bay: two iceboats, gradually making their way out towards Two-Mile (see photos).

Still very little human activity to the SE of Black Cat/Three-Mile, and no bobhouses visible between here and Rattlesnake, but the ice has blown mostly clear and more cold weather is coming up. The track of Friday's snowstorm still seems like anyone's guess (see Winni Weather thread) but one thing is for sure: More arctic cold will come down behind that storm for early next week.

There was only about 3' of open ice under the bridge. I didn't get close enough to the edge to see how thick it was near the water though.

CanisLupusArctos
 

Your website rocks! The pictures are simply beautiful. What a great job you have done with it. :)

Jersey Girl
(who is wishing she were in NH where there is snow unlike NJ):(

so if today high =was 16 degrees then how come the water temp page sice the temp went up from 35 degrees to 37?

Also, would most be willing to agree that it will be safe to snowmobile on most parts of the lake this weekend? More snow for tonight and even more for friday in addition to the cold temperatures

Ice-in
 

I think we can declare Ice-in... I am sure there are still many unsafe places on the lake... please use care out there and take all the recommended precautions.

Have fun... and see you out there.

Think snow!!