# Ice Condition: Portage Lakes



## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Updated Ice Condition Report: Portage Lakes, Summit County, Ohio

Friday 01/04/08 Noon

*ICE FISHING ON PORTAGE LAKES CONTINUES TO BE UNSAFE!*

Nimisila: 100% covered, less than 1"
Turkeyfoot Lake: 80% cOVERED, LESS THAN 1/2" ICE
Old State Park: 100% Covered, 1" thick
Ditez' Landing: 85% Covered, 1/2"
Mud Lake: 70% COVERED, LESS THAN 1/2" ICE

Miller Lake: 90% Covered, 1/2" ICE
West Reservoir: 75% Covered 
(Harbor Inn: 100 Covered with skim ice)
North Reservoir: 90% Covered. 1/2" ICE
East Reservoir:80%
Burch's Landing: 90% Covered at bay, 1/4"


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## snake69 (Sep 26, 2005)

And to top it off, the rain and upcoming warm weather will only worsen the little bit that's out there.... Just gonna take a little longer....


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

It'll be all open again after next week... 

Thanks for checking though, icebucketjohn.


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## Full_Choke (Apr 13, 2004)

But after the the warm spell its our time for sure!!!!!!!


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

where did you find that information out at? drove by all lakes one guy was fishin c5 early sat. mornin....that dude must have some stones man.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Got a call late last night (Saturday evening, 01/05/08) from a buddy stating 6 guys were ice fishing at the East end of Mogadore yesterday.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*IT'S MAKIN' ICE....*

MAYBE BY SATURDAY 1/19 WE'LL BE DRILLING HOLES!

_(I'll keep a sharp eye and let everyone know of the ice conditions)._


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## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

long lake had a thin coat of sheet ice only on sunday.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

I'll take a ride around P-lakes today. I'll toke a spud bar to check the ice thickness at Old State Park today.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

3" of snow on the ground as of this morning, 1/15 8:10 am. 

*THAT'S NOT WHAT I'M LOOKING FOR!!!*

Let's cross our fingers and hope the temps drop even more.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

If you go to www.accuweather.com you can check the 15 day forcast. I know the accuracy of weather reports is debatable but if the reports are even close we will have a good period of fishable ice in the next few weeks ahead. I can't wait!!!! My girlfriend bought me a new clam 2000 for christmas this year and I'm dying to get out there with it. Its finally time to retire the duct/shrink tape palace I've been in for years!! Many of you have probably seen me in the portage lakes area with that thing. It had Cameron's Ice Shack spray painted on both sides. Anyways, I'm thinking about trying Long Lake for the first time this year on the ice. I know where I want to go but does anybody know of areas that I should avoid? I have heard rumors of the lake having many springs and being dangerous to navigate. I am a seasoned Ice fisherman and am good at reading Ice conditions for the most part. Any Info would be greatly appreciated!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Thanks MC for the weather tip. The only early safe place on Long Lake is at T-s Bait Shop and head EASTWARD along the shore line. 

Most likely, I'll be at Old State Park for first ice. It's the most early wind-protected area of the Portage Lakes. 

Although I built 3 shanties in my younger years (1-man, 2-man & 3-man), I've got my eye on a Clam Guide for my next shelter purchase' but before doing so, I'm firmly set on getting a Vexilar first.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Tuesday 1/15/06 1:45 pm 

* NO ICE*

Whatsoever 
at Old State Park 
or elsewhere on Portage Lakes


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## goodday (Dec 24, 2004)

Need the wind to die down


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

By Thursday, there should be at least skim ice everywhere... Portage, Mogadore... Etc...

Next weekend, the 26th/27th, COULD be ready.... Depends on wind, snowfall amounts, etc. 

Thanks for checking and reporting though!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*"Teaser Temps"... *especially yesterday and today are just ticklin' my anxiety.

I'll take a drive to Old State Park and check it out again today. Hopefully we have skim ice.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*What little Ice on Portage Lakes wasn't even tempting, let alone anything brag about.*


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

beside old state park...the other place that freezes first is c5 on nimisilla...alot of the bays at nimisilla looked pretty decent im sure they arent ready yet but they are gettin close...and for the long lake ? what he said about there by t's is a great place get alot of crappie and nice gills there....but it usually takes awhile for long to freeze up good...its usually one of the last lakes i feel gets safe ice personally.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Long Lake at T's usually takes a few more days to safely freeze due to the inflows of nearby creeks/rivers and it gets a more wind than Old State Park.

Where is boat launch c5 at Nimmy...is it the launch first boat launch just off Christman Rd, across from the Falcon Restuarant. (I think thats considered the NE corner of Nimmy)?

I'll be driving around P/Lakes today to check out the ice... spud bar in hand.

* * * * * * * *


*With any luck, Ill be filleting panfish Sunday night, after the NFL Games*


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## crooked stripe (Apr 17, 2004)

Don't forget about Palm Rd. at Mogadore. There is someone there before I see any fisherman on other lakes. I have only caught small gills there but if you need a quick fix this spot will fill the need while waiting.


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## mastercatman (Jan 30, 2005)

C-5 is the parking lot just past the campground on the left going south on Christman rd. There is no boat launch there. Alot of guys park there and walk over to the bay north of the parking lot adjacent to the campgrounds. This area provides alot of small gills and some nice bass during the day. By evening and night this area produces some decent crappie fishing and maybe a walleye once in a while during a nights fishing. This area usually produces the first safe ice on the lake followed by the bay across the lake off of main st with the pine tree island in it. I will start looking at the ice on few different places come sunday morning! I think its a waste of time checking it now. Most of the seasoned ice fishermen on this site know approximately how many cold days it takes to put ice on their favorite holes. I would start making ice reports after sunday when your efforts will be truly appreciated.


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

Old State Park is skimmed over by 90%...

The cove off the C-5 lot at Nimisila is all the way skimmed over except near the mouth of the cove.

If the temps stay low and the winds don't break in up, and if the snows don't fall too awul much, we should have a little bit of ice by NEXT weekend here in NE Ohio.

All we can do now is wait and see.


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

drove by all of portage lakes today...nothin has ice on it except old state park and the bay off of c5...and its not even close to being fishable.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Friday 01/18/08 1:00 pm

Drove by Nimisila, East, Old State Park,Turkeyfoot, North & Long.

*NO ICE!*


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## Big Daddy (Apr 6, 2004)

I guess the winds and warmish evening yesterday blew it out... 

Sort of chilly out now... It'd be at least a week anyway, even if things were perfect! LOL!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*ICE????*


We ain't got no stinkin ice!

We dont need no stinkin ice~


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

If there is no ice after today, I must be living in Hell.


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## hardwaterfan (Apr 6, 2004)

well were starting all over again. seems like the second freeze of a season takes forever. right now im planning on saturday ice fishin. weve only really had a couple cold nights so far.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

It was only 27* last night. Tonight is suppost to be very cold.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Looks like Sunday, 1/20, will not be an ice-fishing day... including Old State Park, Long Lake at T's, North Reservoir or even Mogadore on the East side.


*Rats! Foiled Again!*


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## ice cube (Dec 15, 2004)

The ice cube is back and ready to post. My nephen and I were on ice 2 weeks ago. We only had the one day but it was great. Looking for more ice soon. I want to go ice fish'en!!


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## wave warrior (Oct 2, 2005)

checked the club pond...1-1 1/2" of the best ice i've seen lately!!! wont be long...couple more days!!!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Checked Sunday 01/20/08 12:30 pm

Single Digits Temps, but the wind isn't helping us out.

Nimisilia - Wide Open (Ice only on edges & some small bays)
Miller - 90 Covered, Skim Ice
East - Wide Open
West - Harbor Inn - 100% Ice Covered, Skim Ice
Long - Wide Open
North - 100% Ice Covered, Less than 1"
Turkeyfoot (Old State Park) - 1" Solid Clear Ice at Parking Lot
Hower - 75% Covered, Skim Ice


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## bigcat46 (Dec 15, 2004)

ice cube said:


> The ice cube is back and ready to post. My nephen and I were on ice 2 weeks ago. We only had the one day but it was great. Looking for more ice soon. I want to go ice fish'en!!


I am Ice Cube's nephew and we are ready to go this week. I'm going to be checking ponds everyday this week. We plan on fishing Thursday after work, then Friday and Saturday all day.

We fish local farm ponds and strip ponds around Muskingum and Perry counties. 

The problem is looks like after next weekend the ice we have might not last, oh well like he said we fished 3 hours on 1/5 and had a blast caught about 60 fish or so only 5 keepers. 
Just a little ice action is all we're asking for. Keep dancin' everybody.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

*Ahh.. I love the sound of pressure crackin' ice in morning!*


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Checked Monday 01/21/08 2:30 pm



Nimisilia - A few guys fishing near the C-5 (Miners Bay) Parking Lot (2-3" ice)
C-1 Parking Lot across from Falcon Rest - only 1" ice
Miller - 100&#37; Covered,1-2" Nobdoy Ice Fishing
East - 90% Covered - Less than 2" Nobody Ice Fishing
West - Harbor Inn - 100% Ice Covered Nobody Ice Fishing
Long - 100% Covered - Nobody Ice Fishing
North - 100% Ice Covered, Less than 1" Nobody Ice Fishing
*Turkeyfoot (Old State Park) - 3" Clear, Solid Ice 3 Guys Ice Fishing*
Hower - 100% Covered, Nobody Ice Fishing

(I'll be fishing Old State Park Tuesday Morning)


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## icefisherman4life (Aug 5, 2007)

i fished today...got on at nimisilla on c5 and another bay off of main st. 3 to 4 in. a couple places 2 1/2. no luck but it was nice to get on...i felt pretty safe and im a pretty big boy around 260lbs. really good ice at nimisilla. fished off the docks at burches landing also 1/2 in. no luck at all...just nice to get out..thursday you should be able to fish pretty much anywhere.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Fished Old State Park from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm.

Ice Thickness 3"-4"
Max number of fisherman: 15-20 ice fisherman
Lots of LMB's caught today;most likely 30 -40, caught on jigging rapala's and 
minnows - w/Biggest 3 lbs
Gills" Sporadic & Small Although a few guys got into some nice gills
Crappie: Only a few small ones caught
Perch: Only a few small ones caught


Met Big Johnson at the end of the day fishing near the boat launch.

I didnt do so well, but will give it another shot on Tuesday

Nice to meet you BJ


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## jigtwins (Sep 18, 2006)

I plan on hitting turkeyfoot and maybe nimmisilla on sunday if the ice is good. anyone else gonna be out? Was also wondering if eddies bait shop is open on comet rd? would appreciate any ice reports if anyone has been out.


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Fished Old State Park from 7:15 am to 6:00 pm.

Overall Fish Report: Mor Fisherman & less fish caught... certainly less LMB's in comparison to yesterday.

Ice Thickness 4-5"
Max number of fisherman: 25-30 ice fisherman

Gills" Sporadic, but nicer than yesterday. A few guys got into some nice gills
Crappie: Only a few caught, but 15 or so guys were fishing for them after I 
left
Perch: Only a few small ones caught

Met Woody as he was making his rounds to talk to the guys.

My catch was better today. I kept 15 gills, 1 Crappie & 2 LMB's. (Both LMB's were 3 lb category). The first LMB was caught on the very first tip up, before I had a chance to put the second tip-up on ice in shallow water, 3ft depth. I also lost 3 other LMB's: One b/c the fish wrapped itself around dead tree branches, One because of a line break, and One b/c of a knot break.
I lost the largest LMB of my life b/c of the knot didn't hold. I was using 2 lb leader and played the ole boy for over 5 minutes. I finally had him turn sideways at the hole and my jaw dropped wide open. _What a monster! _ If I had landed him, I would've had him mounted for sure. Too bad I was fishing by miyself; otherwise I would have had someone gotten my gaff hook and maybe used it in this instance.

Nice to meet you Woody, Gary & Rick

One of the nicest memories of the day was seeing a very young boy with his dad ice fishing. The youngster was 5 or 7 yrs old, had a pair of camo car-harts and a flor stocking cap. It was really wonderful to see the lil guy sitting down catching a few fish.

The only negative of the entire day was a few fellows yelling loudly & using the F-Bomb with every other sentence; that ruined the overall experience but *It sure felt good to get out on the ice!*


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## Robert Woodson (Mar 24, 2005)

Hello Folks, 
I was out and about yesterday , a little bit of everywhere, I started the morning at The Kiwanis on a little bit of open water and took a few Bluegills with an eigth ounce jighead and a Chartreuse/Pepper panfish assassin tipped with a wax worm suspended about 16" under a twitching bobber.

After I'd warmed up a bit again I took a trip out to Old State Park and stepped out onto the ice to check out the progress there...I'd read Ice Bucket John's report from the day before and figured if I asked around a bit I just might be able to locate him...I saw Rick and on my way onto the ice...we have met a few times before, I found my barber and his wife, actually they found me...they recognized my voice while I was talking to a fellow outside their shanty and hollered through the flap to say hello, and sure enough, I when I looked around and saw the spot that I thought I might like to try to fish (near some deadfall) I went over and asked the fellow how he was doing, saw a nice Largemouth flopping on the ice there so I figured that wasn't too bad...when I asked him if maybe he knew a fella named John I saw the smile and twinkle in his eye so I introduced myself and he jumped up for a hearty handshake...I came away feeling like old friends...Thanks John, for your time and sharing a bit, I liked your sled stool set-up alot!!! Also, I've been thinking about you a lot today, Hey Guys, I don't think that he has said anything, but he's having some surgery done this week and could stand a little prayer or a message on here to keep him in touch, while he is recovering from that, there'll be no fishing for him for awhile and you all know how that is. 

After I left there, on my way to get my son Bobby I stopped back at Long Lake and the Crappie were beginning to bite a bit on the channels these were taken by a buddy of mine there...I fished for a few minutes but had to leave to get my son at his afterschool care. 

I've taken the liberty of posting some pictures including a couple of our good friend John and his Bass. I have to tell you that appreciate your enthusiasm for your hard water sport John...you've been a real positive motivator on here lately.
Good Fishing,
Woody in Akron


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Hey Woody:

The pleasure was all mine. Next time we meet, you can take a few pics of my ice-fishing box along with some measurements so you can make one up yourself.

Cheers,


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## c. j. stone (Sep 24, 2006)

Those boots look good on you John. Hope they're working out for you! They got some age on them but they really weren't used that much-mostly stored! Does everyone know that you ONLY fish thru the ice!! That's very unusual to say the lease! Good luck on your surgery!


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## icebucketjohn (Dec 22, 2005)

Thanks CJ.. I hope to get a year or two out of those mickeys. 

Have you been on the ice yet??


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