Ice Report!

 These nice spring days remind us that the snow and ice is beginning to really melt quickly and real spring is finally here! The snow pack has settled considerably during yesterday and today, and with the temperature holding around 45 degrees and plenty of bright sunshine today, there is a lot of melting going on.

I have been in touch with my ice fisherman contact, Bob Mackay, and he reported that this morning he measured 20 inches of ice. He said he used his hand auger today - the ice is not the hard, solid, blue ice found in January; he said this ice is layered, alternating 4-5 inches of hard ice with slushy, soft ice and then another layer of hard and soft ice before he hits water. He said with a good stretch of warm weather, it will go quickly. For the time being, Bob is still fishing every day and said he's caught his limit a couple of times recently. He has taken his shanty off the ice for good, and told me that was pretty well frozen in after the recent cold spell. With lots of chopping and a chain saw, he got it freed.  All shanties have to be off the ice before Sunday.

So, in spite of gaining three inches over the past week or so, it's unlikely the ice depth will increase again this year, and with rain in the forecast for tomorrow, there will be more runoff and melting going on. That said, the weekend will bring another mix and perhaps a few inches of snow, so that will slow things down again. Bob will let me know when the ice is unsafe and he is no longer fishing every day.

Ticket sales are picking up - there is only a little over one week left to make your guess, so get those picks in the mail or you can buy 10 tickets on line - www.joespondvermont.com.

 This is one contest that is completely up to chance and luck. There is no way anyone is going to figure out a formula for winning - it is strictly up to Mother Nature and her whimsical twists and turns. We can get some pretty cold, nasty weather, even in April. I'll keep you up to date as best I can on ice conditions and the weather. In case you want more in-depth weather patterns, check out cocorahs.org. I have taken measurements and reported the temperature every day for the last 14 years, so you can check statistics at my weather station at VT-WS-12, station number 3.9 ENE. My location is just above Joe's Pond and is the closest station reporting to CoCoRaHS. The menu on home page will give you options for reports and charts.

Good luck.