12-05-2010, 01:59 AM
Icehogger84 and I want to Horsethief today. Here is my report.
Horsethief: The road to Horsethief was very passable in a good 4WD. I didn't even need 4WD until I tried to park. Then used it again to un-park and turned it off again. Snow was about 8-10 inches deep if you got out of the packed track. I'd recommend chains if you are heading in there. You likely won't need them, but I'd take some for justin.[
] Justin Case.
The ice near the shore was about 2" of slushy ice, 1 inch of water/slush, and another 3" or so of good blue ice. That held pretty true until you got about 100-150 feet from shore. Then the ice started thinning. I didn't venture any further than that, so if you go, be cautious, please. Don't want to read about someone going through. We started about 20 minutes before sun-up, but didn't get any bites until about 10 minutes after light. The bites were very sporadic. We'd get a whole bunch, then nothing for quite a few minutes. I must have had about 50 or more bites in about 5 hours. Only iced 4. Icehogger had about an equal number of bites and iced around 15, I think. I lost count after a while. The size ranged from about 8" to nearly 16". We left about 12 noon.
Cascade: I stopped by Cascade on my way home. The lake appeared to be mostly iced up, but there was some open water near the boat ramp closest to town, and also near the dam. I fished at the boat dock on the east side of crown point toward the dam. Ice was about like Horethief, but about 1/3 less blue ice under the slush ice. I seemed pretty scary, so I decided not to venture out on it. I caught 1 trout in the first minute. Then never got another bite. After about 1/2 and hour, I left. Before leaving, I ventured from the cove where the boat dock is more toward the main body of the lake. I walked about 10 feet from shore and drilled 1 hole. The ice was about 2.5 inches counting the slush and everything. I could feel it noticably sagging under my feet so I got of it gently and quickly and came home. I'd say about another week or so of cold temps and most of the lake will be safe for walking.
Here are some pictures of our venture.
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Horsethief: The road to Horsethief was very passable in a good 4WD. I didn't even need 4WD until I tried to park. Then used it again to un-park and turned it off again. Snow was about 8-10 inches deep if you got out of the packed track. I'd recommend chains if you are heading in there. You likely won't need them, but I'd take some for justin.[
] Justin Case. The ice near the shore was about 2" of slushy ice, 1 inch of water/slush, and another 3" or so of good blue ice. That held pretty true until you got about 100-150 feet from shore. Then the ice started thinning. I didn't venture any further than that, so if you go, be cautious, please. Don't want to read about someone going through. We started about 20 minutes before sun-up, but didn't get any bites until about 10 minutes after light. The bites were very sporadic. We'd get a whole bunch, then nothing for quite a few minutes. I must have had about 50 or more bites in about 5 hours. Only iced 4. Icehogger had about an equal number of bites and iced around 15, I think. I lost count after a while. The size ranged from about 8" to nearly 16". We left about 12 noon.
Cascade: I stopped by Cascade on my way home. The lake appeared to be mostly iced up, but there was some open water near the boat ramp closest to town, and also near the dam. I fished at the boat dock on the east side of crown point toward the dam. Ice was about like Horethief, but about 1/3 less blue ice under the slush ice. I seemed pretty scary, so I decided not to venture out on it. I caught 1 trout in the first minute. Then never got another bite. After about 1/2 and hour, I left. Before leaving, I ventured from the cove where the boat dock is more toward the main body of the lake. I walked about 10 feet from shore and drilled 1 hole. The ice was about 2.5 inches counting the slush and everything. I could feel it noticably sagging under my feet so I got of it gently and quickly and came home. I'd say about another week or so of cold temps and most of the lake will be safe for walking.
Here are some pictures of our venture.
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