Has any one seen or taken sleds out on the ice ?? How thick is the ice at mudd creek ?? Think any sleds will be out sat On da berry ? im going nuts waiting !!!
I won’t take my sled on less than 6"of known solid ice. Others may go out on less but not me.
6" is a little on the skinny end for me. The charts say 3" will hold a sled and a rider, but there is too much variation as you move across the ice. I like a nice solid 8" to really feel comfortable.
I took my sled out on Scofield yesterday and I also saw several other sleds out there. I measured 8" of clear ice beneath the crust.
I know there are a lot of opinions out there regarding ice thickness and snowmobiles, but according to the Minnesota DWR, they say at least 5". They put out a nice video. It’s a little old, but informative.
Scofiels, huntington, cleveland, and E-lake are the only lakes i know a sled is safe on right. now.. and after this storm i would wait 2 or 3 cold nights befor trying.. i hate recorvering my sled from the slush monster!!
Every lake I’ve been to this year that is frozen has a serious case of slush monster. Sleds are great for ice fishing when the conditions are right, for now keep it throttled and don’t get stuck.
Consider the size of the “foot print” a sled put on the ice compared to you or I. While our weight is concentrated over a 1 square foot area on the ice. Even though a sled can weight 400lbs its “foot print” is far less concentrated. IMHO the real risk comes by traveling across thinner ice on a sled at to high of a speed which can cause the “pressure wave” beneath the ice.
Went out to Mantua last Thursday. The ice was at 5 inches with one inch being frozen slush. Saw a very wide set of tire marks. Looked to be a large ATV foot print.
The print looked very sketchy. The ATV was crushing the first inch of weak ice leaving a rut and broken shards of ice to the side. I was thinking there might be a large hole where the trail ended.
Lucky for them there was no end to the trail, at least as far as I went that is.