Ice Conditions

Inner Bay Weather Station - Bird Studies Canada

Please note the information on this page is only the view of it's creators. We do not suggest you rely on these conditions to tell if the ice is safe enough to venture out on. Please use caution and your discretion when attempting to go out on the ice. We take NO responsibility for injuries or losses. Remember ice conditions can change at anytime due to weather conditions.

What if you fall in?

What should you do? First, try not to panic. This may be easier said than done, unless you have worked out a survival plan in advance. Read through these steps so that you can be prepared.

Don't remove your winter clothing. Heavy clothes won't drag you down, but instead can trap air to provide warmth and flotation. This is especially true with a snowmobile suit.
Turn toward the direction you came. That’s probably the strongest ice.
Place your hands and arms on the unbroken surface. This is where a pair of nails, sharpened screwdrivers or ice picks come in handy in
providing the extra traction you need to pull yourself up onto the ice.
Kick your feet and dig in your ice picks to work your way back onto the solid ice. If your clothes have trapped a lot of water, you may have to lift yourself partially out of the water on your elbows to let the water drain before starting forward.
Lie flat on the ice once you are out and roll away from the hole to keep your weight spread out. This may help prevent you from breaking through again.
Get to a warm, dry, sheltered area and re-warm yourself immediately. In moderate to severe cases of cold water hypothermia, you must seek medical attention. Cold blood trapped in your extremities can come rushing back to your heart after you begin to re-warm. The shock of the chilled blood may cause ventricular fibrillation leading to a heart attack and death!

March 14th, 2011

We are no longer reporting ice conditions. At this point it is not safe to go out. There are anglers still going out, not many. If you want to go out the decision is up to you. Please do not call for ice conditions.

March 8th, 2011

The ice now all white. With most still 6-8 inches thick according to angler reports. Remember it take 2 inches of white ice to equal 1 inche of clear ice. Many anglers out today. Fishing reports have been very good, most with limits, out in front of the park. Please remember tat white ice also disappears at a quicker rate than clear ice. There are thinner spots in areas when huts were, holes were drilled etc. with mild temperatures these won't freeze over anymore, or if they do they won't be nearly as thick as the rest of the ice. At this point in the season it's now time to leave the quads and sleds at home when venturing out, and have a pair of ice picks with you.

March 5th, 2011

With many anglers out yesterday no one was in to report of anything to be aware of on the ice. Seems the fishing was decent yesterday, heard reports of limits being caught. They were out with quads and sleds yesterday and some anglers are going back out again today with machines again. We have not been on the ice since Thursday, and we are now done for the season. We are still open 7 days a week, 7am to 5 pm getting ready for another busy season ahead of us. Jimmy will be around the shop most days now so if your looking to outfit your boat or just want to stop in and check out the new stuff arriving now is a great time. We are currently offering a 10% off discount to all of our customers that spend more than $100 in a single transaction (excluding bait and electronics).

March 4th, 2011

The ice up until today has remained at least 8 inches thickness of clear ice. There is white ice on top of the clear ice. Remember when measuring ice thickness it takes two inches of white ice to equal one ice of clear ice. The ice is very slippery with the mild weather on top. There are still machines going out, sleds and quads. We have heard of no weak spots to report of. We are not on the ice for Saturday March 5th.

February 18th, 2011

Looking forward to our Perch Ice Fishing Derby tomorrow. The mild weather caused some water and slush holes but most of that should freeze up over night. There have been quads and sled out on the ice today. Haven't heard of anything to watch out for. Our taxi service and Ice Huts will be in operation on Saturday. The Derby is still on for Saturday February the 19th. Looking forward to seeing everyone there.

February 16th, 2011

Snow that was on the ice melted on Monday and refroze on Tuesday. We have solid clear ice of 12-18 inch thickness. Quads are running no problems. Looking forward to seeing everyone for our Third Annual Perch Ice Fishing Derby on Saturday, Feb 19th. Don't forget Feb 19th, 20th and 21st are part of Family Fishing Weekend.

February 13th, 2011

Snow has accumulated on the ice. In most places it's 1-2 feet deep. Quads are having a difficult time out there now. There isn't many slush holes out there right now but there are a few to watch out for. Ice thickness is still between 10-17 inches.

February 10th, 2011

There is snow on the ice, most not very deep and it's very hard. Most quads are driving on the bay no problems. The snow covered areas are much smoother than most of the bare spots where the slush refroze. There are area out there with a thin layer of powdery snow on the ice that's smooth as glass so if travelling by foot remember your cleats. Again, quads seem to be having no issues on the ice.

February 3rd, 2011

Now that the storm has past I'm sure you're all wondering whether or not your hut is still out there. Most huts seem to have landed on their sides, some upside down. Most seem to be in the same area they were in so I don't think any actually blew away but I could be wrong. Huts that are still standing were obviously iced in, and those huts have sank into the ice some so be prepared to chip those out in the near future. Hardly any snow left on the ice. You can drive over the snow drifts that are out there with a quad as it's hard as a rock.

January 31^st, 2011

The ice is getting thicker every day. With 8 - 17 inches of ice. From the Old Cut access point we haven't heard of any poor ice conditions. There are huts out to and past EC10. Lots of anglers with limits of Perch, as well lots of nice size to the Perch. Can't say it enough jigging is the key. And the BIGGER your spoon to lure them in the better.

January 16^th, 2011

Lots of fishermen and women out this weekend. Saturday was a blizzard to put it nicely, remember when it's nice outside it can change to whiteout conditions very quickly. Always be prepared with a GPS (with extra batteries), Compass (know how to use it), and a cell phone. Fishing wasn't bad on Saturday Perch were being caught but Pike were definitely the cause of a slow Perch bite. Sunday was slow. Still the afternoon has been a better bite than the morning.

January 13^th, 2011

There have been anglers out to EC10. Out there I found 6 inches of ice. In closer there is 9-11 inches of ice. The channel is now strong and I have no spots to report to watch out for. Of course things can change and there may be an area I haven't found that is thin. Lots of angers out today. Fishing has been more productive in the afternoon so keep that in mind. Again using the buckshot rattle spoon tipped with a minnow, jig aggressively to bring the Perch in. Also, deadly dicks work when thumped off the bottom making noise and simulating a feed. When using a rig with 2 hooks (pickerel rig) try putting a preserved wax worm or gulp alive maggot on the top hook and a minnow on the bottom. Sometimes, the minnow might bring them in but they are looking for something smaller to feed on like a wax worm or maggot.

January 10^th, 2011

The ice is coming along very well. I will be marking a trail and putting out my huts tomorrow. Huts will be available for rent starting Wednesday. The ice is between 6 - 8 inches. There is a spot about a mile out towards Port Rowan that is not good, but should be fine by the weekend. Stop in the store for more advice if needed, please do not call.

January 07^th, 2011

The old ice is around 8 inches. The new ice is about 3 inches. The channel is weak yet. I don't recommend quads or sleds for sure this weekend. Please note that as ice fishing is our business we want to encourage everyone to get out as soon as possible, we do post as frequently as we see necessary. Trust that we update our website as soon as we see changes. We appreciate those who are loyal to our website for condition reports. We will post as soon as we make the call to put our huts out. Right now we aren't sure when that will be there has been lots of snow and that makes it harder to judge just how much ice the colder temps will make. Remember we can't tell you when the ice is safe, that's your decision to make. We just tell you the facts (ice thickness, if we're running) there is always the possibility of a weak spot out there.

January 05^th, 2011

The ice has lost some thickness. Right now I would say most of the ice is between 4 and 5 inches. We will not have our huts out this weekend. With the cold weather coming we are currently looking at getting back out Monday or Tuesday. We'll keep you posted.

January 02^nd, 2011

Most of the ice that is left is between 5 - 6 inches. The channel getting out is weak from the water flow. The middle of the bay is open water. We are planning on putting our huts back out Thursday when the ice thickens up and freezes the entire bay over, we will be fishing shallow where the ice still is now until the new ice gets to proper thickness.

December 30th, 2010

Due to the mild temperatures called for and because we are closed on January 1st we have taken our huts of the ice. We anticipate we will be putting them back out Sunday. The ice hasn't yet lost any thickness. There is water on the ice from the melted snow. I will check the ice on Sunday morning and report conditions at that time.

December 24th, 2010

Took the sled out with my 4 year old son Allen. Found between 7 and 8 inches of ice. Ice is slippery out there if you are walking I definetly recommend Cleats. Allen and I were landing fish like crazy only fished for less than an hour. Allen had a mishap with his foot and a hole so we headed back in early. The buck-shot spoon was working fantastic. Don't forget when you're in the store to check out our selection of sleds for towing your gear, we have some with and without tow harnesses and runners. Also, we have really warm hats that Allen's modeling here, in black with brown fur and Pink with white fur (youth and adult sizes). We are closing at noon today and will re-open on Monday, December 27th 7am - 5pm, 7 days a week. We have minnows, worms and maggots. Merry Christmas!

December 17th, 2010

Went out to check the ice this morning. I measured between 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 inches although there are some spots that look wet that I didn't venture over. Remember to always look at the color of the ice before you walk on it. I will have the huts out on December 27th. We have all of our ice fishing stock now in and on the shelves. Huge selection of lures! Also have larger sleds this year with hitches and runners. Looking forward to a safe and exciting ice fishing season! I suspect there will be many anglers out this weekend. I would suggest travelling by foot. I also would like to remind people please do not drill holes in the channel, this is a high traffic spot and the holes add up and weaken the ice. Thanks! :)

December 14th, 2010

Walked out and saw a bunch of coyotes here is a picture with one in the distance. Generally the ice is 3 inches thick, but there are some thin spots out there. Some areas of the bay have just froze that were kept open by the ducks. Our huts are all ready to go so we are watching the ice closely. We will be posting at least every other day starting now so stay tuned.