The ice is taking a beating

[icebadger]

I went out on the cong today and found the ice at my first spot was not in good shape. the rains and warm temps have taken a toll on the ice. The shores are rotted about 2ft out . the ice eaters and the open spots that the birds are keeping open have gotten much bigger making it not safe to go out. Off to spot #2 and the ice there was in much better shape, it was 7" and in a sheltered cove that froze before the main lake. The shores were good on one side but not the sunny side where the rot has started. lets hope that the next couple of nights of cold temps will slow down the rot and you can get on. I was able to get 1 largemouth, 1 crappie, 1 perch and 14 sunnies fishing in shallow water. I hope we can get a couple more days out before the dreaded ice out period starts. I am at 26 days today and would like to at least get 30 days in this season, a short season is better than no season. DEFINITELY USE A SPUD BAR AS YOU GO IF YOU ARE NOT SURE HOW THE ICE FORMED. there are a bunch of cracks and fissures that are getting sketchy to say the least. please be careful if you go.. Farther north you go the better the chances are the ice is in better condition. I included two photos of the bigger fish from today. the perch and sunnies were small ones. all fish were jigged up and still swimming in the big pond.