The 2013 Minnesota Fishing Opener on Mille Lacs Lake was unbelievable to say the least.  But this year it wasn’t because of the spectacular walleye bite, it was because of what Mother Nature threw at us. On Friday, May 10th, generally the start of the Fishing Opener the lake was still blanketed with ice. Normally the highways would be congested with vehicles and boats in tow headed North for the tradition of fishing walleye and northern pike. This year the case wasn’t so because Mille Lacs, as well as many northern Minnesota lakes, still had ice on them.

The forecast all week was calling for 20-30 mph NW winds and those of us who reside on Mille Lacs Lake know what that could mean for this big body of ice cover. It meant the ice was going to move but the question was where and how bad. Shortly after 10:00 pm on Friday night the winds started to pick up. My guess is that everyone went to bed anticipating what tomorrow would bring. When day break came you would normally see boats wall to wall but this year mostly ice was seen.  A few brave one’s ventured out in to the bay and North end areas where some open water could be found and reported catching some fish.

As the morning went on the winds increased and the ice began to move. It steamed on to the south shores of Mille Lacs like a locomotive and upsetting everything in its path from landscaping to trees and docks along the shoreline. Eventually moving in to houses and settling in their living rooms.  Probably the hardest hit was the south shore at Izatys Resort.  They are no stranger to this phenomenon and have witnessed the ice’s wrath before.  The ice had already reach several of the lakefront townhomes and was wreaking havoc, sounding like breaking glass as it moved and eventually breaking glass.  A front end loader was brought in to clear a path of ice to stop or at very least slow the destruction. Facebook lite up with photos of the event and people ventured out to see how amazing it was.

By 10:00 pm the winds had subsided and the ice movement calmed and the south end of the lake breathed a sign of relief. South wind is forecasted for Sunday which may steer the ice to the North end of the lake but hopefully not with such force.

2013 will definitely go down in the records books for Mille Lacs with record ice out and amazing ice movement!

This video shows the whole amazing event at Izatys.

With the cold weather upon us the ice is shaping up nicely for resorts around the Lake. I recommend you decided what area of the lake you want to fish and go through the resort that checks the ice in that area. They can best keep you informed.  Bay area are report 9-10″ with the main lake reporting 6″ or more in some areas.  Please use caution when venturing out on the ice and check-in at resort offices to get their daily updates. Here are some of their website or Facebook updates:

• Appeldoorn’s Sunset Bay Resort -We are now open to wheeler and sled traffic to Shaws Reef. We will be bridging a crack and will start working our way down to Doe Island Reef as soon as we finish staking to Shaw’s.
• Chapman’s Mille Lacs Resort & Guide Service - Today’s Ice Report – 9-10″ in the bay. Where Tim had 5″ yesterday he has 6″ this morning about 2 miles out. With the rain and the wind over the last week there isn’t much snow out there. This cold weather will help it along nicely. Still holding to walk-out and ATV traffic through the weekend.
• Fishermen’s Wharf Resort – 12/18/12 Ice Report – We still have 3″-4″ of ice in the bay but also have another 4″ of water & crusty ice mix on top of that. With the lows around zero forecasted the rest of this week that should solidify and make some good ice soon.
• Hunter Winfields Resort -The bay has 9″-10″ of ice, the main lake 5″. The cold this week will help us but it would be nice for single digits during the day.
• Lyback’s Ice Fishing – The cold weather has arrived!!   Ice tomorrow in our areas will be 5-6 inches.  Here we go…. We will be checking more ice and areas tomorrow but we will be getting started in close and by the end of the day we’ll have lots of fishing areas checked for ice depth and safe travel .  By Saturday we should be well under way for most portable people.  Parking is set up and we’re ready!!!  Now let’s see if the fish bite!! Eddy
• Nitti’s Hunter’s Point Resort – Let the fishing begin. Our Guys went out this morning and found 6-8 inches of good ice. We have all the interior roads open and a road to the flats right now. Make sure you stop in before going out.

Please visit these websites and follow them on Facebook to get their current information.  Visit our website at http://business.millelacs.com/list/category/fish-house-rental-service-22 for a full list of members that offer ice fishing services.  Most will provide ice condition and fishing reports throughout the season.