Ice on Mantua?

[SkunkedAgain]

I heard a rumor it was close. Did the cold last night cap it? I suspect it did. I hope it is better ice than Cutler. Cutler had all that snow that turned to a layer of slush and now it won’t freeze all the way through and seems to act like an insulation layer. I’m afraid it’s so warm this next week that we won’t grow safe ice anytime soon, but please prove me wrong. Later J
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[SkunkedAgain]

About an inch and a half yesterday of good ice on my pond in Benson, but it's still suffering from the slush hang over, so not very good quality ice, don't know if it will get safe until it's fairly thick this year.. Unless it clears off again and starts new... Hope it gets safe sooner rather than later.... J
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[MrShane]

That holiday snow that fell on already ice capped lakes hurt.
I was hoping to be on Mantua this fri but now I’m skeered....
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[SkunkedAgain]

Yup I think I'm white fishing Bear Lake this weekend... Jeff
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[garlars]

Matua was mostly capped this morning, with a few open spots on the east side.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Welcome to the forum and thanks for the report. Man I wish it was going to be colder this week so it would get safe, but I'll bet it will grow slow at this weeks predicted temps... Would sure be fun to get started up there soon... Thanks so much for the info... Did you happen to check thickness or just a drive by like I always do? Thanks Jeff
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[garlars]

Just a drive by. It's on my way to work.
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[Jedidiah]

Pretty much the whole state is in those perfect conditions for someone to get too brave and fall in sometime in the next couple weeks. Even Huntington and Scofield are just getting down to 20 degrees or so at night and going above freezing for a few hours a day.
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[DjHill16]

Saw someone fishing it last night driving home. Dont know how thick it is but someone braved it
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[garlars]

One Brave soul was fishing this morning about 50 yards out on the southwest corner.
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[SkunkedAgain]

Last year we went out on 3” and just west of us a group tried to get on and went through the ice. Really have to check that lake so you don’t hit a thin spot. Thanks everyone for the heads up. I went to Bear Lake today instead and we’ll i missed the skunk just barely found one dinky male white fish that I thought was a Cisco it was so small, but it kept me from smelling all skunky. Anyway hope the ice gets safe before someone goes through. Later Jeff
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[catchinon]

Yeah, last year I was waiting for the ice to get 4" thick and lost out on the prime action to all those who went out on 3-3.5". What would you advise this year?
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[SkunkedAgain]

I'd advise to check as you go... a good spud bar can help you know if the ice is thick enough.. water with one hit usually means the ice is less than 2" so probably a good idea to stay off... Two hits without water and I'm dumb enough to keep going out farther... A Spud bar is easy to take with you and test as you go, much easier than drilling a hole and way faster... you can test every few feet if you're on thin stuff and afraid it might get thinner, better than falling through... My experience with ice break through is you usually don't know you're in trouble until it's too late and you're going through... However, sometimes you'll see the sag first... Good idea to get to a safe spot when that starts to happen... I had a close call on Newton last year with the ice sagging towards a line of 3 holes that decided it was too weak and wanted to break... I moved quickly and didn't drill as many holes in the new location... Have your flotation suits or life jackets on just in case and the rope and a buddy on safe ice is always a good idea when being stupid.... You need someone to laugh at you as you're failing in the icy water... Later Jeff
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[Jedidiah]

A few years ago at Tibble there was one tent out on the ice so I decided to try. Got halfway to him and me and my buddy both started to sag down in a bowl with all my gear, guy comes out and says, "Hey watch out, the ice is kinda thin!" We got out and went back to unload, then go back and try with just an auger. That day I went up to my waist under the edge and learned that getting one the ice at a steep bank is for fellers who want to be reeeeaaaalll cool if you know what I mean.

The ice was barely 3 inches where I did test once.
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[Fin-S-Fish]

Omg, you hit it right on the nail! Wow, that is exactly right on! If ur spud punches through at one jab, for sure it's not ready, if it punches through at two it's walkable but risky, ok if on a cold day say 28 deg and below. 3 jabs and plenty safe. Two inches ice fishable on a cold day. 3in I can jump up and down like a trampoline and no worries, 4in there's no way in hell of falling through even if you're 400lbs. A day like today I would definitely not fish mantua thin ice, it's waaaay warm. That ice is mushy as hell and can easily give way. This whole wk is not ice making weather right now. But yeah a one two punch with a spud is the best unscientific way to measure safe ice. I also plunge my hand into the spud hole to grab ice sheet to measure thickness. Most times when you get 4in of ice the fishing is over with lol.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I marked inches on my spud blade so I can tell how thick it is on the fly. Sort of blew my mind when I realized 2” will hold a fat boy like me up. But it’s really easy to lose a half inch of ice in a couple steps so it’s a very dangerous time to be on the ice and I don’t want to take much gear and it should be the cheap stuff you dont mind losing.

I haven’t been to motivated to try Mantua yet, it is risky and haven’t heard of great fishing yet so best to be safe till we get decent ice. I tend to think it’s the crowds and noise that shuts the fishing down so once the ice is safe for the crowds, that’s usually when the fishing slows down. Had a guy tell me the other day that he would watch the fish leave as people walked over them. He had the pan optics system and was watching crappie from the side view. Makes sense to me, I always figured those gas augers are one of the worst offenders for scaring fish away. Anyway be safe and good luck. Later Jeff
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[SkunkedAgain]

Too often it’s too easy to trust someone else that made tracks so it must’ve been safe. I do that way too often rather than pulling out the spud bar and checking to make sure. Those sags are not fun, especially when water leaks into them and it gets too slick to walk up out of the sag. Had that happen once and I didn’t have my spikes on so I was getting nervous before I finally got enough traction to get out and move away from the area. So I haven’t ever checked for sure, but I’m thinking the sags are more a deal on warmer days. Have you ever noticed when they happen? Probably a day like today on Mantua would be a high sag potential. Just a guess though. Well glad you made it out without freezing the vitals off. The cold water really has a shocking effect when you plunge in. Well good luck and stay on the top side. Later Jeff
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[Kent]

[quote Fin-S-Fish]

Most times when you get 4in of ice the fishing is over with lol.

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That may be true at a few places; however, for many places (Strawberry, Bear Lake, Flaming Gorge, Fish Lake and many others included.) the catching has just begun.
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[SkunkedAgain]

I think he was thinking of the lakes that the hoards frequent close to civilization... I know Mantua, Hyrum and Pineview all follow the same type cycle as mentioned, but when you can get there on quite days the fish still want to play, just not as hot as they do at first... Later Jeff
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[Jedidiah]

Ice fishing crowds are something else. I am trying to be a nicer guy but man some people need some lessons. Dude on Scofield whipping his kids around through the tents on a sled towed behind an ATV (circling my tent a dozen times), several VERY drunk dudes trying to pound a hole through the ice with a spud bar, guy who keeps coming over to my jaw jacker to check it, kids running and yelling around through camp, guy with his wife and 6+ kids including a screaming baby. No joke, a baby in a carrier, on the ice...Huntington, 10 degrees outside. I don't fault people for just basically being people but I mean...some folks maybe need some better training in manners.
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