Anglers urged to use caution on area lakes - Marshall Independent
Photo by Deb Gau A few ice fishing shelters could bee seen on part of Lake Shetek on Tuesday. While people are starting to head out on the ice this winter, the Murray County Sheriff's Office has been warning of areas of unstable ice and open water on Lake Shetek.
With the return of cold weather in southwest Minnesota, anglers are starting to head out onto lake ice again. However, authorities in Murray County are urging caution on one of the area's most popular lakes.
Over the past week, the Murray County Sheriff's Office has issued warnings of ice heaves and an area of open water on Lake Shetek. Ice heaves are sheets of ice that push against each other or against the shoreline.
Area conservation officers have also reported variable ice conditions in Lyon and Murray counties.
On Monday, the Murray County Sheriff's Office posted on social media that an ice heave 2 to 3 feet tall was stretching across part of Lake Shetek. The ice heave was expanding from Loon Island in the lake to the mainland, and the public was advised to use "extreme caution" in the area.
The Sheriff's Office had posted a warning about a different ice heave on the north end of Lake Shetek on Friday as well. With warm temperatures and wind, there was a spot of open water about 30 yards by 50 yards in size, the Sheriff's Office said.
In a weekly report updated Monday on the Minnesota DNR website, Marshall area conservation officers said they're seeing growing numbers of ice fishers, but also some changing ice conditions.
Over the past week, Conservation Officer Matt Loftness reported seeing more ice fishing activity with some hard-sided ice fishing houses pulled by ATVs starting to show up on area lakes.
However, he said, "Ice conditions are varying from spot to spot so extreme caution needs to be used. Please have all the appropriate ice safety equipment with you."
Conservation Officer Jim Robinson reported some similar conditions in the Slayton area. Many people went ice fishing over the Christmas weekend. But at the same time, the ice was still "highly variable" in condition and thickness, Robinson said.
The Minnesota DNR doesn't measure ice thickness on lakes, and people should always check ice thickness and remember that ice is never 100% safe. It takes at least 5 to 7 inches of clear ice to support a snowmobile or ATV, and 12 to 15 inches of ice to support a medium truck, the DNR says.
On older white ice, thickness guidelines should be doubled, the DNR said.
Ice fishing activity has already started this winter, said Jeremy Barck at Borch's Sporting Goods in Marshall. There aren't a lot of large fish houses on the lakes yet, though.
"It's mostly people walking in or riding ATVs," he said.
Anya Smith at Balaton One Stop said she has started seeing some ice fishers visit the store for supplies this winter.
"It's usually in December, right before New Year's," when ice fishing starts to pick up more, she said. "There's maybe been more than last year."
However, Lake Sarah and Lake Shetek tend to be more popular ice fishing destinations than Lake Yankton, she said.
Popular ice fishing lakes in the area change from year to year, Barck said. However, Lake Shetek seems to be pretty consistently popular, he said.
Barck said so far the ice fishing season looks like it could be a little more normal compared to last winter.
"Last year, we had so much warm weather up until this point," he said.
The warm temperatures delayed ice formation on area lakes, Barck said.
The colder temperatures forecast for southwest Minnesota in the coming weeks should be better for ice, Barck said.
High temperatures in the region will be hovering just above zero for most of the week, according to the National Weather Service. Weekend temperatures, however, are expected to plunge near zero or below.
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