Ice Conditions at Kippling?

[WalleyeWebbs]

Hello to all! I was thinking about fishing off the Kippling area and was wondering how the ice conditions/fishing conditions are and are they driving trucks out there yet? Any updates would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
WalleyeWebbs

[The Bait Shop Guy]

Generally speaking, there's 12 to 15 inches of ice on the bay, north of Gladstone. Plenty enough to drive a truck out on. Problem this year is the series of pressure cracks running along the entire western side of the bay. People are crossing them with quads, but there is no safe place to cross with a truck. They are fairly close to shore, and are blocking access to the deeper parts of the bay where most people target the walleyes at. The only real option this year is to drive around to the east side of the bay, and get access at the Vagabond Resort. They have a private access, (cost is $3,) with no pressure cracks to deal with.

If you decide to chase perch, and go out of the Kipling access, STAY AWAY FROM THE NORTH SIDE OF BUTLER'S ISLAND!!! The shallow reef that runs North East from the island never forms good ice, and is where all the trucks have gone through this winter, (and most winters.)

South of Gladstone, nearly to the Terrace Inn, there's 9 to 10 inches of ice. South of that point, there's about 5 inches on the low end. There's a nasty pressure crack that runs close to shore from the Terrace, all the way to the Gladstone harbor. Just stop and watch the traffic flow for a while to see where they're crossing, if you're not familiar with the area. There's no problem going out from the Gladstone yacht club. There's very little snow on the ice. Just enough for good traction for quads and sleds, and to bank a shack up.

If anyone has any important info regarding the access points, please chime in. With the traffic and warmer temps, conditions can change in a hurry.

Hope this helps.

[WalleyeWebbs]

Thanks for the information Chris!! I appreciate it!!