(Arnolds Park)– Warmer weather has officials warning those venturing out onto area lakes to be extremely cautious with rapidly changing ice conditions. Blake Mills, an enforcement officer with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources, says conditions are starting to deteriorate in some locations…
“Right now we’re starting to see a lot of the accesses starting to deteriorate. That warm run-off water has come down on the edges and you have a lot of the center ice along the edges of the lake, so the accesses are starting to go now. That’s kind of the biggest area of concern we’re seeing. A lot of other places when you’re talking seams or you’re talking areas off of points, there’s a lot of movement with the ice going on and some of the melt water, so there’s a lot of changing conditions in those areas as well.”
He urges those venturing out onto the ice to have extra gear with them just in case…
“This time of the year when we are starting to see some deteriorating conditions, if possible go with a friend. Don’t walk side by side so that there’s some distance in between you. If you’re walking into an area that you’re not sure of the ice thickness, having a spud bar or drilling your way out just to make sure you’re checking the ice on your way out to where you plan to go, and not just make a straight line cut straight to where you’re planning on going to fish.”
Fortunately, Mills says pretty much all of the permanent ice houses are off the lakes…
“Yeah, the deadline is March 1st but we’re seeing almost all of them are off. There’s a few pop-ups still going out, you know, folks just pull them out for the day or just for an afternoon of fishing, but with the accesses going that usually is kind of the biggest factor when people pull them off early because the edges of the ice deteriorates to the point that people get them off before they can’t get them off or before it’s going to cause greater issues trying to get them off the lake itself.”
Warmer temperatures are expected through at least the next week or so, and officials say that will only further weaken the ice.
