I have a trip lined up for Sunday, May 12th and I am getting worried. Is anyone else worried?

Even with the latest snowfall I wouldn't be worried.

We are going out on the 23rd of May and yes I am a bit worried.

I am excited. I was worried for an early ice as warm as early and mid April were. Need to be as close to ice out as possible for those lakers!

Heading in on May 9th....ZERO chance the trip will be delayed by snow/ice at this point. Enjoy your trip!

nope, heading up next week, have a good time!

I've seen a few webcams this week that were ice free. Snow on the ground but no ice. Have a great time!

I'm going in on May 18th... so personally I am not worried at all.

My group is headed in the 16th. We were a lot more worried last year about our trip! Hopefully the late snowfall and ice delays the bugs and puts us in the perfect fishing conditions! Have a great trip everyone!!

Ice out will be earlier than last year. No need to worry!

Vermillion went out yesterday according to the DNR Site, and Crane Lake last week. Add a week maybe ten days for the far east end of the BW and that would be ice free in the entire BWCA by May 10 at the latest.

TDBauer: "I'm going in on May 18th... so personally I am not worried at all. "

Where are you going in at?

Mike

q.beav: "My group is headed in the 16th. We were a lot more worried last year about our trip! Hopefully the late snowfall and ice delays the bugs and puts us in the perfect fishing conditions! Have a great trip everyone!!"

Where you are going in at?

Mike

Heading up for the first time 5/11/19. Not worried at all! Its gonna be better than my office!

I talked to clear water lodge yesterday and they have 20 inches of ice and don't think it will be off by opener.

The MODIS from Saturday looked like dead of winter for Lakes near and E and NE of Brule. the much below normal temps and cloudy skies doesn't help. Will be interesting seeing what MODIS sees on the next clear day.

SAT Modis

Headed in from the Ely area next week. So I am not worried. Moose Lake was ice out over the weekend.

Gunflint side might be touch-and-go, but Ely, Crane, etc are going to be fine. I'd love to ice fish the Fowls on the opener some time.

Burntside Lake near Ely is still ice covered, so I would suspect that Knife and a few of the other deep lakes are too. Shagawa, Fall, Farm, Garden, White Iron and most other small lakes are ice free.

Does the forest service still do the early season fly-overs to check lake conditions and do they publish their reports? That might tell you what's beyond the entry lakes (if they are already ice-free).

HighnDry: "Does the forest service still do the early season fly-overs to check lake conditions and do they publish their reports? That might tell you what's beyond the entry lakes (if they are already ice-free)."

I think they do. But they need better flying conditions from the recent weather ---no go below 5000' per Wilderness Regs and if the clouds are socked in at or less than 3000' (IFR for the Pilots) - it's not going to happen as those IFR pilots are harder to come by.
I think from the current weather data I looked at ( 1am CDT) along with my experience interpreting the data- that there is little chance large / deep lakes along and E of Brule have ice out by May 11th.

I will remind folks that on June 1st, 1936- Justine Kerfoot walked across Gunflint Lake. 2 days later Gunflint was ice free. So it can change quick. But this is not June and 1 month of Sun angle makes a BIG difference with the insolation involved. The heat sink of Superior is impressive - even in a warm spring.

In 2012 I took the WFR course at outward bounds. One morning I ate breakfast with a gal that just come off a one month trip ( May 12)... They put in up by Mudro and drug canoes and stuff over the ice until it went out. Boy was I impressed! Some of the best stories I’ve heard are from pre ice out to just after. Go, and deal with what your dealt.
If you get a permit early to mid May this is always a concern. Accept for running out of coffee, I’m not sure there is anything that could cancel a canoe trip for me... oh wait, getting old! Haha!

MikeinMpls: "

q.beav: "My group is headed in the 16th. We were a lot more worried last year about our trip! Hopefully the late snowfall and ice delays the bugs and puts us in the perfect fishing conditions! Have a great trip everyone!!"

Where you are going in at?

Mike"

EP 64.

Anyone heard about the ice near on Moose Lake near Prairie Portage or back bay into Pipestone Lake?

The Gunflint lake webcam looks hopeful.

mooselake: "Anyone heard about the ice near on Moose Lake near Prairie Portage or back bay into Pipestone Lake?"

Get in touch with Bob at LaTourell's. Check out their facebook page as well. He usually posts photos of ice conditions on Moose. He'll know and should be able to guide your planning.

deepwater: "I talked to clear water lodge yesterday and they have 20 inches of ice and don't think it will be off by opener. "

Yes, I am worried, and this is exactly why. I'm going out on 5/16 in this area, more or less.

I was optimistic for a while, but not lately. The variables in my math:
a) I'm very familiar with the DNR's ice out map. Comparing this year's progress with past similar years, it looks like Gunflint-area lakes could easily go well into May.
b) It's not like we've had a miraculous turn in daily temperatures, nor is there one forecasted. This has been a slow warm-up.
c) These repeated snowfalls aren't helping anything.
d) A lot of the record ice-out dates are in the May 15-20 range.

HighnDry: "

mooselake: "Anyone heard about the ice near on Moose Lake near Prairie Portage or back bay into Pipestone Lake?"

Get in touch with Bob at LaTourell's. Check out their facebook page as well. He usually posts photos of ice conditions on Moose. He'll know and should be able to guide your planning."

I have been checking their photos. Ice is out on Moose. Curious about Basswood after the mechanical portage. Bigger lake that goes out later. Ill will try to get in touch with Bob today.

I spoke to Bob at Latourell's today and he hadnt been to the ice on Basswood after Prairie Portage. However, he did say he was confident that if ice wasnt already out it would definitely be out by the opener. Ice depths were not as thick as usual which made for quick break up. Happy Fishing Everyone!

neveragoosechase: "

deepwater: "I talked to clear water lodge yesterday and they have 20 inches of ice and don't think it will be off by opener. "

Yes, I am worried, and this is exactly why. I'm going out on 5/16 in this area, more or less.


I was optimistic for a while, but not lately. The variables in my math:
a) I'm very familiar with the DNR's ice out map. Comparing this year's progress with past similar years, it looks like Gunflint-area lakes could easily go well into May.
b) It's not like we've had a miraculous turn in daily temperatures, nor is there one forecasted. This has been a slow warm-up.
c) These repeated snowfalls aren't helping anything.
d) A lot of the record ice-out dates are in the May 15-20 range. "

OK, here's what you do:

Alter your trip. If your anxiety is this high, maybe you could find a lake you know to be open.

This is what happened to us about 10 years ago. My wife and I signed up to be on the annual portage clearing trip with Joe Knutson. We were to go in the second week of May (very early), but the portage clearing trip was cancelled because ice wasn't out on the lake we were to base camp on. It was too late to change our vacation dates, so we had eight days to work with. So we drove to the ranger station and obtained a permit that was available (Baker Lake) knowing some ice still might be present, but not knowing for sure. But I figured ice would have been pushed out since Baker Lake, Peterson Lake, etc. are really just the Temperance River flowage, and the flowage would hasten ice out.

So we put in on Baker Lake, get to Peterson, only to find lots of ice. We paddled the west shore where there was some open water, but we basically paddled in a lake that was 90% covered. We paddled as far as we could before we had to turn around.

So, we based camped at Kawishiwi Lake (still iced-in at the time), and watched the ice go out on the lake over the course of the week. We had the entire campground to ourselves for the week.

My points:

1. paddling within the ice on Peterson Lake was probably not my smartest move, but it was so f&%#king cool. Had the ice shifted, we were close to the shore and would have been OK. But we were fortunate to find a lake and time where we were able to do this. We likely had a 24-hour window and we luckily found it. It was beyond cool. It probably doesn't match with your plans, but adjusting worked out for us.

2. We were able to watch the ice go out on Kawishiwi Lake. Again, something that I had not watched, in person, in real time. It was a part of nature that I was able to witness.

What I rambled on above may not match with your plans or expectations, but nature sometimes forces us to be flexible. I'm a plans guy (former Army operations officer).... I don't like to deviate from my plan. But that week, even after being relegated to base camping at the USFS campground at Kawishiwi Lake, ended up being special in it's own way.

Mike

MODIS from today still shows BRULE etc. locked up. Even Alton looks iced in.

FRI MODIS

This mornings snow depth.

deepwater: "I have a trip lined up for Sunday, May 12th and I am getting worried. Is anyone else worried?"

I’m fishing open water in Ely for crappies. Ice should be outta da deep lakes by Friday at latest.

@deepwater Good date to go in on. Also my bday! Wooo!

Tuesday May 7th- MODIS

Still a ton of ice Brule on E.... Bring your auger for many of those bigger lakes if your going opener. You can legally use two lines if your on the ice. I checked.

For the benefit of anybody else who is watching the ice situation in the Gunflint/Clearwater area:

I just called the FS office in Grand Marais to ask. She said seemed to indicate somebody was out looking right now, but that "'Sag' went out, and that's usually the last." Also, "Brule, Greenwood, and Pine are going out..." She wasn't too specific about that. Sounded like there was a list she was reading from. I asked about Ram (where I'm going next week), and she said that on 5/8, "there was water around the edge." 6 days to melt, so I'm thinking it's looking pretty good. That's a load off my mind!

If you're wondering about your own trip in the next week or so, I'd recommend giving them a call. They might have intel on your EP, but even if they don't they might soon.

Now to start packing! Woohoo!