# weather and the ice



## ODNR3723 (Apr 12, 2007)

How cold does it have to be and for what duration to get good fishable ice? Is there a formula out there somewhere that you can figure this out? Or does everyone do it like me and just use caution when you go out and drill a hole to check the thickness. I am going to try and go out tomorrow. We have had single digits where i fish for 2 days going into 3. Also, how much does wind affect it? When we have a negative windchill does it speed the freezing process up or just make itr miserable for us. Just curious. 


Wannabitawerm, let me know what you work the next 3 days. I would love to get out. I am off tues, weds. I bought a shanty and havent even used it. Thats my luck though.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

all bodies of water differ from one another...for instance...we have 2 ponds at our club that are only a few hundred yards apart yet the upper pond ALWAYS freezes first and this year when one had 5" the other had 2" with open water!!!GENERALLY 20 deg for 24hr=1" of ice...wind will play havoc on open water but once it locks in wind has no effect on the ice...only skin!!! thats my take but im NO expert!!! be carefull and DO NOT go alone!!!


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

High winds can REALLY damage ice and hamper it's production. 

If you do head out, go with someone and be EXTREMELY careful. Wear a PFD, take some rope, a cell phone in a plastic zip-type baggie. BE SAFE!!!!


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## mrphish42 (Jan 24, 2008)

To many variables to bring into ice making formula, wind...current.. sun exposure, snow cover (acts as an insulating factor) can and does slow down the process of ice thickening.. Meteorologists say that wind chill is only a measure of colds effect on flesh and not other objects. I've been ice fishing for 50 years and caution should be your guide.. Dont fish or go out on the ice alone.. I know. guy's do..... I have my own tales of stupidity in my younger years.... besides, it only happens to the other guy..........I said in another post....... be cautious......think smart, becareful ...........come home safe and good fishing.........Jon Sr.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

i have a few theories. one is that it takes an average of 25 degress for 7 days to make 3" of pond ice. but thats first ice. lets theorize then that if we have twice those cold temps below freezing, say an average of 14 degrees below freezing instaed of 7 (18 degrees), then it might take 3.5 days for fishable ice to form. over the course of the last two days i think we've even been below that. 

in my opinion wind has a magnifying effect on whatever the temp is. (hot or cold) if its warm and windy the ice will melt faster or the water will warm up faster due to the constant "refreshing" of the warmth of the air against the water (or ice). if its cold and windy then the water will take longer to actually freeze because its agitated and stirred up but once it settles down it will freeze thicker because its colder, deeper. if its cold and windy and you already have ice then thats good for the ice because again the cold force of the air is constantly refreshed against the ice.

you can feel the same difference on a cold day. wind chill makes you feel colder because the wind constantly strips away the small warmed up layer of air underneath your clothes. you feel warmer on a still day even if its 20 degrees because the air around your body is not cold. so imagine if your body was a lake, the cold air has the same effect on a lake, the wind is constantly moving the air across the water, taking heat with it. if the wind is still the heat will stay in the air on top of the water. (although cold air does sink and heat rises. theres always gonna be some air movement.)

anyhow i beleive cold wind speeds the freezing process. but it might not seem like it at first because water thats agitated takes longer to actually crystallize.

overall though, theres no way you can break it down to anything other than checking and being careful. no matter what any factors you know of, temps, wind, etc. anything can happen. its just too dangerous to try to be booksmart about ice, you just have to rely on common sense first and foremost.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

Hfan, ive always though the exact same thing about wind moving colder air across the ice and removing the "warmth" from the lake faster. Ive also had people tell me im crazy, but it makes perfect sense. I also agree with your thoughts on cold wind making the entire water column colder. 

One interesting phenomenon that I never quite understood is the fact the hot water freezes faster than cold water. Something to do with the energy transfer or evaporation. Because evaporation is a cooling process. Try filling your ice cube trays with hot water and some with cold water and see what freezes first. Ive never done it but the hot water is supposed to freeze first.

All that being said, I would be shocked to find fishable water this weekend on any body of water that received a substantial amount of warm rain runoff last week.


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## fisherman5567 (Jan 3, 2007)

Big Joshy said:


> Hfan, ive always though the exact same thing about wind moving colder air across the ice and removing the "warmth" from the lake faster. Ive also had people tell me im crazy, but it makes perfect sense. I also agree with your thoughts on cold wind making the entire water column colder.
> 
> One interesting phenomenon that I never quite understood is the fact the hot water freezes faster than cold water. Something to do with the energy transfer or evaporation. Because evaporation is a cooling process. Try filling your ice cube trays with hot water and some with cold water and see what freezes first. Ive never done it but the hot water is supposed to freeze first.
> 
> All that being said, I would be shocked to find fishable water this weekend on any body of water that received a substantial amount of warm rain runoff last week.


About the hotwater freezing first, it has to do with the space in between the molecules and the rate of speed at which they move.


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## ODNR3723 (Apr 12, 2007)

Most of the ponds that i am seeing lost all of their ice from the previous freeze. The pond i fish though is in a valley and it is always a couple degrees colder and it seems to freeze up faster than other waters. That being said, we are going to test it tomorrow and see what it looks like. Hope it is fishable.


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## Crappieking2001 (May 31, 2004)

Commen sense is waiting for this weekend.  , the new formed ice i was on this morning was 2" by the shore so any open water is now 2" to 3".
By this weekend, maybe thurs night the earliest  should be safer.
I was shocked to see the rockyriver locked up. the spot i fish is always fishable, not today. must have been them high winds?  was muddier than i thought it would be also. the wind. huh? nice snow day any way.


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## Bassnpro1 (Apr 6, 2004)

I am hoping for more ice around the columbus area, but I'm not getting myself too excited. I am still seeing alot of open water as of today. The quarry behind my apt is still wide open.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

smaller ponds around columbus are ice over with about .5 to 1 inch. Indian lake just froze over late sunday night. 

Heres the problem, Chance for heavy snow coming. 3-5 in cbus, and 3-7 at indian lake. One inch of ice and 7 inches of snow would end any chance of ice formation for the year for sure at indian, especially with warm muddy water underneath. Got to love Ohio Winter fishing!


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## NorthSouthOhioFisherman (May 7, 2007)

heres a cool chart


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

I wouldn't advise anyone to try Milton or Berlin and West Branch as far as that goes. They are dropping the water levels back down and are pulling a lot of water out of them right now. If there is ice it will be very shaky.


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## RichsFishin (Nov 4, 2007)

I checked our ponds today and they had at the most 1.5 inches.........Rich


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## Wannabitawerm (Apr 13, 2004)

I'm stuck 12 hours all week. As long as these temps hold, we could have fishable ice by weekend. The snow, if it gathers on the ice can slow the process. Some ponds kept most of their ice, some almost none at all. If you go out tomorrow, bring rope just in case. If you find "fishable ice", stay in the shanty as it will distribute your weight. 

If you find good ice, let me know. I would like to get out this weekend if I can. Keep me posted.


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

club pond had 2"+ on one and <1" on the other...


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## toboso (Apr 14, 2004)

Yes, there are 10 bazillion factors that affect ice formation & quality but I tend to use the same logic as Wave Warrior--20 degrees F (daily high temp) makes ~1" of ice. All else being equal, it takes 2-4 days of sustained frigid weather to reach my personal minimum ice thickness where I fish. At least I know when to start looking and what to expect. If the weather portion of the equation is a known quantity, less ice than expected may indicate unfavorable conditions--namely current and/or warm water. If this happens, I'm paying extra attention to details if/when I do get out on the ice.


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## SummersOff (Feb 11, 2007)

I have a small pond in my backyard, probably 1/3 acre or so. It was wide open last night and has 1 1/2" of ice today. I am amazed at how fast the ice formed, even with the wind. That said, be careful!


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## BlueMax (Dec 3, 2006)

fisherman5567 said:


> About the hotwater freezing first, it has to do with the space in between the molecules and the rate of speed at which they move.



It is an urban legend that warm water will freeze first... Cold water will always freeze before water that is warmer.. as long as both are exposed to the same temperature.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2006-06-14-water-theories_x.htm

After reading this it looks like we are both right in a way. Apparently heating water causes it to loose certain minerals found in hard water which cause it to freeze more slowly. I know it was taught as fact in my highschool science class. And I know I need to wet a line!!!!


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## BlueMax (Dec 3, 2006)

We cannot both be right. You are changing the composition of the warmer water. This throws the comparison out the window. 
If you boil two gallons of water, let one gallon cool to 40 degrees. Let the other gallon remain at let's say 60 degrees. Put them both into a 20 degree atmosphere. The 40 degree gallon of water will freeze first. No debate there since both gallons of water are exactly the same composition.
Let's go fishing


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## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I did this experiment myself after my dad told me about it as a kid. Hot water will not freeze faster than cool water but warm water can. It has to do with the heat energy in the water making all the molecules move around really fast wich transfers heat out of the water and evenly distributes the cold temp. through the enitre amount of water making it freeze solid quicker. Cold water gets a layer of ice on top faster but warm water freezes solid quicker. But this only works in a bowl or bucket, I found this out because the experiment was done while feeding and watering the animals we raised. In an actual body of water like a pond or lake there is just way too much heat stored in the water and the dirt at the bottom for it to work.


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## Big Joshy (Apr 26, 2004)

Blue max. I didn't say that we were both right. I said that we were both right in a way. Theres a difference. Meaning that under certain circumstances the statements that we made are true. 

Hope that clears things up


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