Official 2020 Ice Out Thread

[Island Girl]

Here you go folks. Post here about this year’s ice out. I think it will be quite early. You can watch the progress on the lake’s many web cams at http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/watch.htm

Post your pics and videos on this thread.

The lake temp is warm enough for the ice to go out and there is water along many shores. It’ coming soon!

IG

[Garcia]

Originally Posted by Island Girl

Here you go folks. Post here about this year’s ice out. I think it will be quite early. You can watch the progress on the lake’s many web cams at http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/watch.htm

Post your pics and videos on this thread.

The lake temp is warm enough for the ice to go out and there is water along many shores. It’ coming soon!

IG

Now there's some good news to get the day started!

[gwhite13]

I'm already looking at the buffer and polish.

[CaptT820]

I think we will see some serious movement between today and tomorrow. Expected high temperatures this afternoon, along with rain (possible thunderstorms) and a bit of wind. The wind duration will be the key.

[WJT2]

Can someone give an update to Ice Conditions on Lily Pond in Gilford?

[TiltonBB]

Originally Posted by Top-Water

I hope you are correct ,,,,,,,,,,,, I think we all need a boat ride right about now, for a variety of reasons.

Yes, but if you bring the family you will need a good sized boat to keep up with "social distancing".

[AC2717]

Just saw a small aluminum out on the bear island cam

hope he was the ice breaker lol

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by WJT2

Can someone give an update to Ice Conditions on Lily Pond in Gilford?

I heard that someone went through the ice at Lily...no other details otherwise.

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

I heard that someone went through the ice at Lily...no other details otherwise.

Union Leader reported that a man riding a fast bike went through the ice 250-300 ft from shore. Turns out that would be rte 11B (?). Fact is that he broke through maybe 60 ft from right below the Bypass of ramp. Yesterday it was still overall ice locked.

Dave

[Mink Islander]

Fog eats ice...

[ishoot308]

Lily pond is 50% open water as of 6:00 PM today.

From my vantage point overlooking the broads, ice will be going out very soon and I see no reason why I won’t be quarantined on Welch island next Saturday!!

Dan

P.S. Don can you combine the other ice out thread with this one...

[SandwichPM]

Does this seem like a possibility given the current conditions / forecasts?....

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by SandwichPM

Does this seem like a possibility given the current conditions / forecasts?....

We are shooting for Easter on Mark... I think it'll happen!

[Bear Islander]

Open water between Pine and Bear islands.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by steve-on-mark

We are shooting for Easter on Mark... I think it'll happen!

Guaranteed at this rate. May be gone by the end of the month. Hopefully your boat is socially distanced in storage.

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by codeman671

Guaranteed at this rate. May be gone by the end of the month. Hopefully your boat is socially distanced in storage.

Not to worry... I had a premonition about this whole virus thing and had them wrap it with Lysol wipes...

[ishoot308]

Lots of open water in the broads this morning! The wind is really making things move!

Get your boats ready!!

Dan

[IslandRadio]

Yeah, the warmer weather is helping, and the wind is really doing its thing! The ice on Mirror Lake is disappearing before my eyes.

Check out the Webcam: http://www.mirrorlakenh.com/cam.htm

It may be possible to kayak all the way around the lake at this point. Wouldn't want to fall in !! That water is C-O-L-D

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

Lots of open water in the broads this morning! The wind is really making things move!

Get your boats ready!!

Dan

The "aliens" are getting restless, Dan!

[Mink Islander]

I’m guessing ice out in less than two weeks....

[WinnisquamZ]

Hopefully. Passing time with a line in the water is a positive


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[Pine Island Guy]

Originally Posted by AC2717

Just saw a small aluminum out on the bear island cam

hope he was the ice breaker lol

I promise I was well more than 6’ from anyone!!

I did make it to Pine and them broke through the ice to get to Bear... still some pretty thick parts... but shouldn’t be too long now... although the forecast for the beginning of next week isn’t looking so positive

It is officially spring!! -PIG

[JMR]

This afternoon at Rattlesnake’Landing

[umbrellapoint]

Broads - Wolfeboro Neck looking out to Rattlesnake.

After lots of progress and ice movement yesterday, it was in the teens last night and only now cracking 20 degrees, so most open areas have a thin skim back on.

[Senter Cove Guy]

Looked Good Enough To Rotate

[smith point boater]

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[smith point boater]

From Smith Point 3/22Attachment 1[ATTACH]1[/ATTACH


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[ishoot308]

A few pics from Ellacoya this morning...

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Top-Water

@smith point boater, and ishoot308, Thanks for the photos ..........

I wonder what the actuall water temp is? With all that ice I would guess 32.01 degrees F But I don't know the real answer.

It’s almost always 34 degrees at this point. I have taken water temps through an ice fishing hole in the past and again it was 34 degrees.

Dan

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Top-Water

Thank you ......... I always find the water temp fascinating. I do understand it but ,,,,,,,,, otherwise there would be no fish.

Thanks for your experienxce.

Honestly, I don’t understand why the water under a frozen lake isn’t 32.1 degrees but it never is...always seems to be 34.

I too am fascinated and follow water temps religiously through the season mainly to target salmon. It’s amazing what just a couple degrees difference can make especially during early spring fishing.

Dan

[SAB1]

Still guys fishing on it up in tuftonboro my buddy said.

[ACME on the Broads]

Agree, now if we can only afford the gas in a few weeks!

[welch-time]

North side of Welch opening up.

[Mink Islander]

Rain, rain, come our way, rid the lake of ice today....

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

Rain, rain, come our way, rid the lake of ice today....

Snow snow on the way..
Insulate the ice for a longer stay!

[JEEPONLY]

Originally Posted by Top-Water

I love watching the nature shows and once, I had seen it explained so perfectly.

I guess I'm not alone when it comes to some of these questions.

I do know why it floats .......... but its not the easiest thing to explain. A lot of the explanation has to do with understanding what happens at 39 degress f. Note that I typed 39 not 32.

I know a techie that has a T-shirt- "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you!"

Very frustrating- You know how THEY are!

[smith point boater]

After the snow



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[Y2K]

Originally Posted by JEEPONLY

I know a techie that has a T-shirt- "I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you!"

Very frustrating- You know how THEY are!

I have that shirt, but it starts with "I'm an Engineer...."

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Y2K

I have that shirt, but it starts with "I'm an Engineer...."

Kinda like "six months ago I couldn't spell enjunear but now I are one. ". 🤔

Dave

[Slickcraft]

Lily Pond: no ice in sight this morning.

Alan


By the way, I are an engineer

[WinnisquamZ]

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[COW ISL TIME]

Looking East towards camp Northwoods

[ishoot308]

Here’s a few pics just taken at 6:30 PM today.... The first one is a panorama of the second two.

Dan

[MikeF-NH]

wow...looks like you could launch out of Ellacoya and make it to the southern shore of Welch with very little ice breaking. Of course HUGE risk of having a sheet of ice crush your boat against the shore line there should a southern wind kick up.

Soon....very soon...

[aquabones]

where is the link to the "ice Out" contest?
Thanks!

[upthesaukee]

Note the contest ended Feb 29th.

https://www.winnipesaukee.com/index.php?pageid=iceout

Dave

[smith point boater]

Don’t know how thick it is but still plenty of ice out there


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[Prestige Worldwide]

Long Island looking at gunstock.


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[Blue Thunder]

The view from the MODIS satellite today

[daveschappell]

These photos are facing Parker Island and Rattlesnake Island (looking south from Wolfeboro Neck)

[SAB1]

Was on the dock today putting my bumpers on and to my surprise a snowmobile flew by then another on 19 mile bay. These two guys rode a rode around a good half hour. Still guys ice fishing too.

[ishoot308]

These pics taken this morning from Lincoln Park!!

Welch Island here I come!!

[dt5150]

woohoo!!! guess i had better get to work on the boat!

[upthesaukee]

Yesterday from Morse Preserve looking towards the Ossipees.

Dave

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

These pics taken this morning from Lincoln Park!!

Welch Island here I come!!

Plenty of trolling waters right there Dan! Have fun and make up for time missed last season!

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Hillcountry

Plenty of trolling waters right there Dan! Have fun and make up for time missed last season!

Amen to that Hill!!

Dan

[Slickcraft]

Glendale and Belknap Point today:

It looks closed from Glendale to FL 26 today but should be open tomorrow.

Quite a bit of ice north of the route out to Welch much of which will get blown south today likely headed for Wolfeboro bay.

Smith cove today is more than half iced in.

Alan

[Mink Islander]

The wind is grinding away at the ice.

[LakeSnake]

From Alton Mountain- end of Alton Bay out to broads

[Mink Islander]

Almost gone...

[smith point boater]

Originally Posted by Mink Islander

Almost gone...

Looks open from Smith Point to Rattlesnake



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[betterthanbacon]

Love seeing all these pictures. With the marinas not staffed by the stay at home order I wonder how many will be getting a later start than usual. Has anyone heard how this may effect those that depend on the Marinas services?

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by betterthanbacon

Love seeing all these pictures. With the marinas not staffed by the stay at home order I wonder how many will be getting a later start than usual. Has anyone heard how this may effect those that depend on the Marinas services?

For those of us who pay for inside storage, it effects us greatly! We typically open the house the weekend after ice out and are there til the first week of November. My wife works from home so once she's there she's all set, while I have to commute to my " essential " job in Dover. I was planning on opening up next weekend, but was told I may not be able to get either boat out of storage til sometime in May. I'm looking into borrowing a friends extra boat to get us through in the meantime. I do understand that the marinas are looking out for their employees, but it's gonna cause me to rethink storage options at the end of the season.

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[SandwichPM]

If Marinas are closed is it correct to assume all gas docks on the lake will be closed?

[Slickcraft]

Alton Bay is open up to about 1/2 mile north of Sandy Point. Then mostly ice up to the top of the bay.

Smith Cove looks ice free.

The north side of Welch still looks iced in.

Looks like still floating ice up in the Timber, Round and 40 Islands area.

[Hillcountry]

After today’s rains and above freezing weather, the ice can’t be long for this world!

[thinkxingu]

Not exactly about ice, but it seemed like the lake was low when I was up yesterday but the chart I found shows it's in the upper average range. Are we really above average and did we have enough precipitation to keep it up?

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[WINNI BOB]

Originally Posted by WJT2

Can someone give an update to Ice Conditions on Lily Pond in Gilford?

Lily Pond has been Wide open for a couple of days

[8gv]

If Lilly Pond has been ice free for two days then Winni should be open in about twelve more days assuming a typical two week spread.

My 4/8 guess is looking mighty good!

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by WINNI BOB

Lily Pond has been Wide open for a couple of days

It was open 5 days ago, post #48

[daveschappell]

Originally Posted by thinkxingu

Not exactly about ice, but it seemed like the lake was low when I was up yesterday but the chart I found shows it's in the upper average range. Are we really above average and did we have enough precipitation to keep it up?

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Lake level is nice and high. This graph is spot on. I check it regularly because when it’s <3.0 the water can get a little low for the boat lift.

https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/.../graph2020.jpg

[thinkxingu]

Originally Posted by daveschappell

Lake level is nice and high. This graph is spot on. I check it regularly because when it’s <3.0 the water can get a little low for the boat lift.

https://www.des.nh.gov/organization/.../graph2020.jpg

That's what I was looking at yesterday, but it just seemed low at my association's docks. Maybe the ramp area I was at needs to be dredged or the docks' water stains are from excessive levels.

Thanks!

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[hkephart]

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

Alton Bay is open up to about 1/2 mile north of Sandy Point. Then mostly ice up to the top of the bay.

Smith Cove looks ice free.

The north side of Welch still looks iced in.

Looks like still floating ice up in the Timber, Round and 40 Islands area.

Still ice in Smith cove.

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[Mink Islander]

Just slush moving around now.

[Slickcraft]

Originally Posted by hkephart

Still ice in Smith cove.

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Thanks for your 1st post, we drove down by the GYC but did not get out to be able to see the whole cove.

[hkephart]

No ice this morning in Smith cove!

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

Thanks for your 1st post, we drove down by the GYC but did not get out to be able to see the whole cove.

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[COW ISL TIME]

Hopefully it will be gone by the weekend

[Mink Islander]

Beautiful Spring morning

[MikeF-NH]

Does anyone have any visibility to the ice conditions between Shep Browns and Bear island? Can you launch and get out of that area?

I'm looking to travel to Long Island bridge from that area OR to head south past Cattle Landing and down toward the Witches and beyond....anyone know what the ice conditions are on those routes????

[Bear Guy]

Originally Posted by MikeF-NH

Does anyone have any visibility to the ice conditions between Shep Browns and Bear island? Can you launch and get out of that area?

Oh, so close. The Shep Brown's "24/7-365" live feed is showing as offline:
https://www.shepbrowns.com/live-lake-cam

There are cameras at the tip of Bear, showing passage between Bear and Pine:
http://www.bearchow.com/

[steve-on-mark]

Originally Posted by MikeF-NH

Does anyone have any visibility to the ice conditions between Shep Browns and Bear island? Can you launch and get out of that area?

I'm looking to travel to Long Island bridge from that area OR to head south past Cattle Landing and down toward the Witches and beyond....anyone know what the ice conditions are on those routes????

looking at the Varney Point cam, I don't see any ice from there to Timber.

[Barney Bear]

Looks like ice is still ready to welcome anyone headed above Five Mile Island and over to Long Island. Looks like open water below Bear Island. 🐻

[fatlazyless]

Originally Posted by MikeF-NH

Does anyone have any visibility to the ice conditions between Shep Browns and Bear island? Can you launch and get out of that area?

I'm looking to travel to Long Island bridge from that area OR to head south past Cattle Landing and down toward the Witches and beyond....anyone know what the ice conditions are on those routes????

I drove up to the Lovejoy Sand's-Shep's town and private docks yesterday at about 3-pm and took a good look around.

Going south from Shep's to Bear Island looked very blocked by a lot of ice.

Going north from Shep's to the post office dock looked probably doable by going out north just a little past Pine Island and then coming back to the Bear Island dock .... in case you want to pick up your mail.

From the Cattle Landing town dock, it was totally ice free going south to Dolly, Mark, Timber, and Governor's.

From the Cattle Landing town dock, going north, it was all solid ice from the main land across to Rock Island area, and not doable.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by MikeF-NH

Does anyone have any visibility to the ice conditions between Shep Browns and Bear island? Can you launch and get out of that area?

I'm looking to travel to Long Island bridge from that area OR to head south past Cattle Landing and down toward the Witches and beyond....anyone know what the ice conditions are on those routes????

My cameras on north Bear show open water. However the Pine Island CAM shows ice over near Moultonborough Neck.

http://www.charlesyoung.com/pineislandeast.jpg

There is a live Cam on Bear facing Shep's that shows ice but I am told you can get around it by staying to the north near shore. That Cam has time lapse.

https://www.wunderground.com/dashboa...slanders2002/1

[Mink Islander]

Rattlesnakecam.com is a great resource for seeing different areas of the lake. It includes the Islanders2002 webcam on Bear that looks south towards Shep Browns that Bear Islander references.

[MikeF-NH]

thanks everyone...I use the RattleSnake webcams several times per day but the ones in the areas I am asking about don't have time stamps on them and frequently when cams go out they keep the last picture posted. The poor ice out progress in Sheps had me thinking it was stuck at last week.

Strange ice out for me. Usually when I see Rattlesnake cams showing open water, the cams in Sheps and off Pine are either already open or open within a day or two. The Shep cam shows what looks like another weeks worth of ice.

Lol...like everyone, I get pretty antsy to get out on the water as i get closer to first launch day of the season (which for me is Saturday).

Be careful and be safe out there...this is the time of year that dangerous debris is floating (sometimes just under the waterline) and hoping to sink an vessel that doesn't see it.

[panjumbie]

Look at them at night. If you see a daylight picture, then it is frozen.

[AFlast]

We live near Geneva Point. All visible ice between Geneva Point and Melvin Village is gone. Saw our first boater this past Saturday and a couple of more out yesterday. The loons are back nd we’ve seen the eagles as well

[Prestige Worldwide]

Yesterday, Long Island looking at Gunstock.


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[Grant]

Where are this year's ice-out guesses posted?

Can't find them to save my life.

[Hillcountry]

An ice out declaration must be imminent with these fierce winds!

[granitebox]

https://www.winnipesaukee.com/contests/2020/

[upthesaukee]

Originally Posted by Grant

Where are this year's ice-out guesses posted?

Can't find them to save my life.

Go to this site's home page. There's a link, I think, on the left side.

Dave

[WINNI BOB]

I can't find any ice on the lake . except the southern end of Paugus Bay

Winni Bob

[WINNI BOB]

Hi;

Is there any ice in Alton Bay ????

My guess for ICE OUT WAS 4/2/2020 @ 9:30 am. I'm In the running....I can only find 4 other guesses for this date.

I guess it's all up to the guy who has to do the "FLY-OVER", and I can't see anyone that would want to fly a plane in this weather ???

Winni Bob

[Lil' Barndoor Guy]

There's a big slab in front of Springfield Point, Worcester Island, Melody Island and Clark Point in Wolfeboro.

[Bear Islander]

Originally Posted by WINNI BOB

I can't find any ice on the lake . except the southern end of Paugus Bay

Winni Bob

Ice west of Bear Island on the Mounts route.

[jeffk]

Center Harbor is ice free. The wind cleared it out overnight.

[Fishinfergy]

Originally Posted by WINNI BOB

I can't find any ice on the lake . except the southern end of Paugus Bay

Winni Bob

Looks to be pretty much gone now.

[winterh]

I think I had tomorrow at noon. If all you folks would be kind enough to turn off your dock bubblers maybe the ice can last till then.