02-26-2019, 09:55 PM
Craig,
Low elevation lakes are rapidly deteriorating now. My irrigation pond went from a good solid 8-9" on Saturday to the top 1.5" very melted out last night and I'm sure tonight will be much worse. I expect at this rate, this weekend will be the last for most low elevation lakes, if the cold temps don't return... the last couple years we were done before the first of March except for places like Strawberry or the Uintas... The end is getting very near, so pick your favorite spots and hit them soon... Time to check very carefully before you go out on, the top will start going bad and there will be a small layer of good solid black ice underneath that will hold it all together... When that black layer gets less than 2-3" the ice will soon be gone and I wouldn't trust it with my life... The top stuff will become like sugar and collapse easily it's only that bottom layer that keeps you safe... I use my spud bar a lot this time of year and I change my rules from the fall because the ice behaves differently, so now I use a few more jabs before it goes through to prove safety... In the fall on solid ice, two jabs meant the ice was safe... Now with the pile of bad stuff on top, you have to get through that before the two jab rule comes into play... But everyone needs to try this for themselves because everyone will hit harder or softer than I do and we all weigh different so the ice will hold each of us at different points... I guess I just want everyone to take extra caution right now... Later Jeff
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Low elevation lakes are rapidly deteriorating now. My irrigation pond went from a good solid 8-9" on Saturday to the top 1.5" very melted out last night and I'm sure tonight will be much worse. I expect at this rate, this weekend will be the last for most low elevation lakes, if the cold temps don't return... the last couple years we were done before the first of March except for places like Strawberry or the Uintas... The end is getting very near, so pick your favorite spots and hit them soon... Time to check very carefully before you go out on, the top will start going bad and there will be a small layer of good solid black ice underneath that will hold it all together... When that black layer gets less than 2-3" the ice will soon be gone and I wouldn't trust it with my life... The top stuff will become like sugar and collapse easily it's only that bottom layer that keeps you safe... I use my spud bar a lot this time of year and I change my rules from the fall because the ice behaves differently, so now I use a few more jabs before it goes through to prove safety... In the fall on solid ice, two jabs meant the ice was safe... Now with the pile of bad stuff on top, you have to get through that before the two jab rule comes into play... But everyone needs to try this for themselves because everyone will hit harder or softer than I do and we all weigh different so the ice will hold each of us at different points... I guess I just want everyone to take extra caution right now... Later Jeff
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