Ice In

secondcurve · 02-06-2012, 07:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

What is says is I CAN'T GET TO MY HOUSE AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT IT!!!

It is not uncommon for Sebago not to freeze and with a winter like this, it just didn't happen. The Sebago Lake Rotary Ice Fishing Derby scheduled for Feb 17-19 has already been cancelled. The $100K prize for a record touge is still up for grabs during the Statewide Derby in March. The major reason for no ice is Sebago is much deeper (315' at it's deepest) than Winnipesaukee. It takes a perfect set of circumstances for the water to reach its maximum density of 39 degrees prior to freezing. This phenomenon has been explained by CLA in the past. The wind "almost" never quits and any ice that forms is often blown off the lake during the next day. It's always a crap shoot that I get to use my place in the winter. I'm probably taking the aluminum over sometime this week just to get a look around.

BT

Blue Thunder: If you live in Massachusetts and vacation in Maine why do you visit this site so often?

Pineedles · 02-06-2012, 09:19 PM

I was not aware that Sebago doesn't freeze some years, as well as it's depth of 315'. I know I was there in '86 or '88 staying a couple of days with some neighbors and the water temperature was close to 90 degrees. Real hot spell but at the time I assumed it was a shallow lake.

Blue Thunder · 02-07-2012, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pineedles

I was not aware that Sebago doesn't freeze some years, as well as it's depth of 315'. I know I was there in '86 or '88 staying a couple of days with some neighbors and the water temperature was close to 90 degrees. Real hot spell but at the time I assumed it was a shallow lake.

The ten year average for not freezing is 3 out of every 10. In my 40+ years of visiting/owning I've never seen the water temp that high. In the hottest of summers it can get to 80, but thats about it.

BT

SIKSUKR · 02-07-2012, 11:02 AM

I'm surprized that some of those bays have not frozen on Sebago.I guess the the lake temp is to high?

Blue Thunder · 02-07-2012, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SIKSUKR

I'm surprized that some of those bays have not frozen on Sebago.I guess the the lake temp is to high?

Correct. As stated earlier, the water has to reach a uniform 39 degrees for a depth of 10-20 feet. Water is most dense at this temp. Then, and only then, can the rapid cooling at the surface take place to start the freezing process. In a perfect world that would be several nights of zero or sub zero cold. Obviously, we haven't had but a few of those nights this winter and in the case of Sebago, it wasn't at a time when the wind was calm. There was some ice about 2 weeks ago that was about an inch thick. One NW day and it was history.

BT

Merrymeeting · 02-07-2012, 04:01 PM

Based only on the webcam views, it sure looks like the ice is getting thinner and open areas are widening. I'll be able to look myself later this week when I get back to the area.

codeman671 · 02-07-2012, 05:11 PM

Between the Black Cat cam and the Weirs cam, things are looking ugly...I was up on Alton Mountain earlier today and saw ice everywhere, but it was very gray. Down in Wolfeboro off Gould Road I saw someone walking about between the Varney Islands.

Some of the coves are fine, but I would not want to be anywhere out in the open. We are going to start an office pool to see how many people and cars go through this weekend...

Resident 2B · 02-07-2012, 05:38 PM

The ice looks much more like March 7th than February 7th and the lake temp does as well. Look at today's Anchor Marine time-lapse, large pieces of moving ice.

Be extremely careful out there ice fishing! I have decided to pass this year.

R2B

FLAG! · 02-07-2012, 06:30 PM

Do I see an ice house out there in Wolfeboro bay?

Jonas Pilot · 02-07-2012, 07:20 PM

I heard there were two out in Wolfeboro Bay.

adamkry · 02-07-2012, 10:00 PM

Hi All-

I will be trying to get to my house on Sleeper's Island tomorrow. I will be heading off from rattlesnake landing and trying to cross directly across to the island. The ice is normally a little thinner as that channel sees a good amount of current. Does anyone have any good info as to the ice around there? It's an East North East approach from Glidden cove to Sleeper's Island.

Obviously, I'll check it myself as I go but it'd make me feel better, or worse, to have a little more information.

Thanks!

Blue Thunder · 02-07-2012, 07:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by secondcurve

Blue Thunder: If you live in Massachusetts and vacation in Maine why do you visit this site so often?

I have some ties to the area from my childhood, have boated the lake many times and feel that I make positive contributions to this site. For the record, I don't believe that I am the only one participating here on a regular basis that isn't from the Lakes Region of NH.

BT

secondcurve · 02-07-2012, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blue Thunder

I have some ties to the area from my childhood, have boated the lake many times and feel that I make positive contributions to this site. For the record, I don't believe that I am the only one participating here on a regular basis that isn't from the Lakes Region of NH.

BT

Thanks. I didn't mean to imply that you don't make positive contributions to the site. I was just trying to understand your connection and you explained it well.

adamkry · 02-09-2012, 12:05 PM

The path from Rattlesnake Landing to Sleeper's seemed fairly safe. We checked the ice thickness about every 100-200 ft or so and it was between 4 and 6 inches on a direct path to my place which is on the south west side of the island, just barely facing Diamond Island. However, there is a small current of open water between Rattlesnake Landing/Glidden Cove and the Castle on Sleeper's Island. This gash can be circumvented on either side but use caution when out in the middle between the southern point of Glidden Cove and the Castle.

There are a lot of reports as to how the ice is 'Bad Ice' and 4 in may not be as strong as the 4 in we are accustomed to so be careful if you are planning on snowmobiling or ATVing. I'm going to stick to foot travel and ice skating myself as the ice is beautiful and smooth for skating.

Adam

Island Girl · 02-11-2012, 02:11 PM

Cessnaair went for a little ride yesterday and took these pics.

ghfromaltonbay · 02-11-2012, 08:00 PM

Thanks for the aerial shots. I can see our place at Sandy Point on the 3rd picture. Can't wait to get there next week!

FLAG! · 02-13-2012, 05:46 PM

Anyone have any ice thickness reports for the Wolfeboro area?

tpabrad · 02-14-2012, 12:51 AM

Flag, buddy of mine was out there this afternoon in his shack and said it was plenty thick, but seems the wind is having its effect and opening cracks making it hard to navigate. I know the area we fished in over the weekend (not the bay) was perfect on Friday/Saturday but turned for the worse really quick on Sunday. We had perfect conditions those days, but found ourselves having to navigate big chunks that got broken free in various places.

FLAG! · 02-15-2012, 06:15 PM

Thanks a lot. This is crazy. We're hoping to ice fish the weekend of March 2nd and would like to go from wolfeboro to the varneys, but from what I hear that may not be a safe trip. We may have to stay real close to the camp.

Hamiltony · 02-17-2012, 12:29 PM

Anyone know if there is a safe (thick enough ice) way to get to Bear, ideally from Cattle landing? My brothers and I are planning to come up next weekend (the 25th), but we're not sure we'll be able to walk out to our house on bear. Also, any suggestions on testing the ice ourselves (beyond the current plan: tie a rope around the youngest brother and pull hard if he goes through the ice) safely?

Thanks for any info!

Jonas Pilot · 02-17-2012, 02:19 PM

I think that even the most experienced would be very cautious about that far of a trip. How many times have you been on lake ice?

codeman671 · 02-17-2012, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamiltony

Anyone know if there is a safe (thick enough ice) way to get to Bear, ideally from Cattle landing? My brothers and I are planning to come up next weekend (the 25th), but we're not sure we'll be able to walk out to our house on bear. Also, any suggestions on testing the ice ourselves (beyond the current plan: tie a rope around the youngest brother and pull hard if he goes through the ice) safely?

Thanks for any info!

Stay away! You are crazy to try it, especially a week from now. The ice is soaked, thin and it is it is 43 degrees out. The entire next week is high 30's to low 40's daily.

The reports from Mink Islander last week indicated that there was no real safe place to even get on the ice between Sheps and Cattle Landing.

Pool some money together and have one of the service companies take you out by airboat. Island Services has been working on Bear, you may be able to catch a ride for short $$$.

crowsnest · 02-17-2012, 03:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamiltony

Anyone know if there is a safe (thick enough ice) way to get to Bear, ideally from Cattle landing? My brothers and I are planning to come up next weekend (the 25th), but we're not sure we'll be able to walk out to our house on bear. Also, any suggestions on testing the ice ourselves (beyond the current plan: tie a rope around the youngest brother and pull hard if he goes through the ice) safely?

Thanks for any info!

By next week ill bet you can take your boat over !

meredith weekender · 02-17-2012, 04:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crowsnest

By next week ill bet you can take your boat over !

LOVE that statement from Crowsnest

.

Hamiltony · 02-17-2012, 05:04 PM

We came out last year (in March), but we may have to find someplace else to stay if the ice is that bad.

Island Girl · 02-17-2012, 05:12 PM

The lake will be liquid in March this year! The ten ft. temp at Black Cat Island hit 38 degrees today. Ice out page going up tomorrow!

IG

Merrymeeting · 02-17-2012, 07:41 PM

Not to dampen spirits, as at this point I want Ice-out as much as anyone. But I spent several hours today walking on the ice. I don't want to encourage mindless access without knowledge of conditions, but in protected coves and non-moving water areas, we have a LONG way to go before the ice is gone.

The areas I walked on were a good, solid 6" at least, more often 8-12". I checked almost every fishing hole I passed, and the results were the same. It will take a while before ice goes out in these areas.

Hamiltony · 02-17-2012, 09:08 PM

How do you test ice thickness? Is there some sort of drill, or are you estimating by eye?

Jonas Pilot · 02-17-2012, 09:59 PM

I would use an ice chipper (chisel) and 'thunk' my way along the ice. I'd pay attention to the looks and sounds of the ice and every so often I would chip through the ice to measure the thickness. I would make that first chip a gentle one and make sure you have a strap around your wrist and connected to the chipper. If it punches trough retreat! Just incase, make sure you have an extra pair of underwear.

codeman671 · 02-18-2012, 11:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Merrymeeting

Not to dampen spirits, as at this point I want Ice-out as much as anyone. But I spent several hours today walking on the ice. I don't want to encourage mindless access without knowledge of conditions, but in protected coves and non-moving water areas, we have a LONG way to go before the ice is gone.

The areas I walked on were a good, solid 6" at least, more often 8-12". I checked almost every fishing hole I passed, and the results were the same. It will take a while before ice goes out in these areas.

I think we will see it go out the way it came in. The broads and most open areas will go out quickly, while sheltered bays and coves drag on for a while.

How is that big open spot off belknap point looking? We are not up this weekend.

HomeWood · 02-20-2012, 08:23 AM

Ok, everybody can start the ice out count down because I am back in NC.

Had a great two weeks at the house. I found ice 8-15" thick. The entrance to Lees Mills was 13-15". It was 8-10" just about everywhere else I fished. I wish there had been more snow, but the crust made for great walking and atv riding.

02-07-2012, 11:02 AM	#4
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	I'm surprized that some of those bays have not frozen on Sebago.I guess the the lake temp is to high? __________________ SIKSUKR

02-11-2012, 02:11 PM	#15
Island Girl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Central MA Posts: 2,352 Thanks: 18 Thanked 535 Times in 179 Posts	Aerial Ice Pics Cessnaair went for a little ride yesterday and took these pics. __________________ Island Girl ....... Make Lemonade

02-11-2012, 08:00 PM	#16
ghfromaltonbay Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Clifton, NJ, Alton Bay Posts: 829 Thanks: 255 Thanked 225 Times in 131 Posts	Thanks CessnaAir & Island Girl Thanks for the aerial shots. I can see our place at Sandy Point on the 3rd picture. Can't wait to get there next week!

02-17-2012, 12:29 PM	#20
Hamiltony Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Cod (but Bear Island when I'm in NH) Posts: 12 Thanks: 25 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Bear Island passage Anyone know if there is a safe (thick enough ice) way to get to Bear, ideally from Cattle landing? My brothers and I are planning to come up next weekend (the 25th), but we're not sure we'll be able to walk out to our house on bear. Also, any suggestions on testing the ice ourselves (beyond the current plan: tie a rope around the youngest brother and pull hard if he goes through the ice) safely? Thanks for any info!

02-17-2012, 05:12 PM	#26
Island Girl Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Central MA Posts: 2,352 Thanks: 18 Thanked 535 Times in 179 Posts	Liquid Lake The lake will be liquid in March this year! The ten ft. temp at Black Cat Island hit 38 degrees today. Ice out page going up tomorrow! IG __________________ Island Girl ....... Make Lemonade

02-06-2012, 09:19 PM	#2
Pineedles Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Moultonborough & CT Posts: 2,545 Thanks: 1,072 Thanked 668 Times in 367 Posts	I was not aware that Sebago doesn't freeze some years, as well as it's depth of 315'. I know I was there in '86 or '88 staying a couple of days with some neighbors and the water temperature was close to 90 degrees. Real hot spell but at the time I assumed it was a shallow lake.

02-07-2012, 04:01 PM	#6
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 302 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	Based only on the webcam views, it sure looks like the ice is getting thinner and open areas are widening. I'll be able to look myself later this week when I get back to the area.

02-07-2012, 05:11 PM	#7
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,509 Thanks: 221 Thanked 818 Times in 491 Posts	Between the Black Cat cam and the Weirs cam, things are looking ugly...I was up on Alton Mountain earlier today and saw ice everywhere, but it was very gray. Down in Wolfeboro off Gould Road I saw someone walking about between the Varney Islands. Some of the coves are fine, but I would not want to be anywhere out in the open. We are going to start an office pool to see how many people and cars go through this weekend...

02-07-2012, 05:38 PM	#8
Resident 2B Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: North Shore, MA Posts: 1,358 Thanks: 995 Thanked 314 Times in 164 Posts	The ice looks much more like March 7th than February 7th and the lake temp does as well. Look at today's Anchor Marine time-lapse, large pieces of moving ice. Be extremely careful out there ice fishing! I have decided to pass this year. R2B

02-07-2012, 06:30 PM	#9
FLAG! Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Upton, MA Posts: 112 Thanks: 44 Thanked 14 Times in 6 Posts	Do I see an ice house out there in Wolfeboro bay?

02-07-2012, 07:20 PM	#10
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	I heard there were two out in Wolfeboro Bay.

02-07-2012, 10:00 PM	#11
adamkry Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Hi All- I will be trying to get to my house on Sleeper's Island tomorrow. I will be heading off from rattlesnake landing and trying to cross directly across to the island. The ice is normally a little thinner as that channel sees a good amount of current. Does anyone have any good info as to the ice around there? It's an East North East approach from Glidden cove to Sleeper's Island. Obviously, I'll check it myself as I go but it'd make me feel better, or worse, to have a little more information. Thanks!

The Following 8 Users Say Thank You to Blue Thunder For This Useful Post:
Bear247 (02-07-2012), calef22 (02-15-2012), DRH (02-09-2012), Newbiesaukee (02-20-2012), Resident 2B (02-07-2012), secondcurve (02-07-2012), Two dobys (02-07-2012), upthesaukee (02-07-2012)

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Blue Thunder (02-09-2012)

02-09-2012, 12:05 PM	#14
adamkry Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Posts: 3 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	The path from Rattlesnake Landing to Sleeper's seemed fairly safe. We checked the ice thickness about every 100-200 ft or so and it was between 4 and 6 inches on a direct path to my place which is on the south west side of the island, just barely facing Diamond Island. However, there is a small current of open water between Rattlesnake Landing/Glidden Cove and the Castle on Sleeper's Island. This gash can be circumvented on either side but use caution when out in the middle between the southern point of Glidden Cove and the Castle. There are a lot of reports as to how the ice is 'Bad Ice' and 4 in may not be as strong as the 4 in we are accustomed to so be careful if you are planning on snowmobiling or ATVing. I'm going to stick to foot travel and ice skating myself as the ice is beautiful and smooth for skating. Adam

The Following 5 Users Say Thank You to Island Girl For This Useful Post:
pontoonbarge (02-11-2012), Rattlesnake Gal (02-11-2012), Resident 2B (02-11-2012), trfour (02-11-2012), Webbsatwinni (02-13-2012)

02-13-2012, 05:46 PM	#17
FLAG! Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Upton, MA Posts: 112 Thanks: 44 Thanked 14 Times in 6 Posts	Anyone have any ice thickness reports for the Wolfeboro area?

02-14-2012, 12:51 AM	#18
tpabrad Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 58 Thanks: 5 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Flag, buddy of mine was out there this afternoon in his shack and said it was plenty thick, but seems the wind is having its effect and opening cracks making it hard to navigate. I know the area we fished in over the weekend (not the bay) was perfect on Friday/Saturday but turned for the worse really quick on Sunday. We had perfect conditions those days, but found ourselves having to navigate big chunks that got broken free in various places.

The Following User Says Thank You to tpabrad For This Useful Post:
FLAG! (02-15-2012)

02-15-2012, 06:15 PM	#19
FLAG! Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Upton, MA Posts: 112 Thanks: 44 Thanked 14 Times in 6 Posts	Thanks a lot. This is crazy. We're hoping to ice fish the weekend of March 2nd and would like to go from wolfeboro to the varneys, but from what I hear that may not be a safe trip. We may have to stay real close to the camp.

02-17-2012, 02:19 PM	#21
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	I think that even the most experienced would be very cautious about that far of a trip. How many times have you been on lake ice?

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Hamiltony (02-17-2012)

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Hamiltony (02-17-2012)

02-17-2012, 05:04 PM	#25
Hamiltony Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Cod (but Bear Island when I'm in NH) Posts: 12 Thanks: 25 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	We came out last year (in March), but we may have to find someplace else to stay if the ice is that bad.

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Chaos (02-18-2012)

02-17-2012, 07:41 PM	#27
Merrymeeting Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Merrymeeting Lake, New Durham Posts: 2,226 Thanks: 302 Thanked 800 Times in 368 Posts	Not to dampen spirits, as at this point I want Ice-out as much as anyone. But I spent several hours today walking on the ice. I don't want to encourage mindless access without knowledge of conditions, but in protected coves and non-moving water areas, we have a LONG way to go before the ice is gone. The areas I walked on were a good, solid 6" at least, more often 8-12". I checked almost every fishing hole I passed, and the results were the same. It will take a while before ice goes out in these areas.

02-17-2012, 09:08 PM	#28
Hamiltony Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Cape Cod (but Bear Island when I'm in NH) Posts: 12 Thanks: 25 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	How do you test ice thickness? Is there some sort of drill, or are you estimating by eye?

02-17-2012, 09:59 PM	#29
Jonas Pilot Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Wolfeboro, New Hampshire is my home, 24-7-365 Posts: 1,686 Thanks: 1,047 Thanked 336 Times in 189 Posts	I would use an ice chipper (chisel) and 'thunk' my way along the ice. I'd pay attention to the looks and sounds of the ice and every so often I would chip through the ice to measure the thickness. I would make that first chip a gentle one and make sure you have a strap around your wrist and connected to the chipper. If it punches trough retreat! Just incase, make sure you have an extra pair of underwear.

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Hamiltony (02-20-2012)

02-20-2012, 08:23 AM	#31
HomeWood Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Clayton,NC / Sanbornton,NH Posts: 611 Thanks: 126 Thanked 137 Times in 75 Posts	Ok, everybody can start the ice out count down because I am back in NC. Had a great two weeks at the house. I found ice 8-15" thick. The entrance to Lees Mills was 13-15". It was 8-10" just about everywhere else I fished. I wish there had been more snow, but the crust made for great walking and atv riding.