This week's warmth should not have greatly weakened ice on Mississippi River backwaters or Rochester area reservoirs — except Lake Zumbro.
It's been warm, but not that warm. The big question will be Saturday, when the forecast is for sunny skies and a high near 50. After that, it will cool down.
Dan Dieterman of the Department of Natural Resources in Lake City said "there is more than enough ice." Some people might still be driving out because there hasn't been much of a loss of ice. He said many backwaters have up to 14 inches of ice. Of course, with backwaters, anywhere there's any current, ice is weaker.
Cody Rollings of Hooked on Fishing in Rochester said he's seeing 8 to 10 inches of solid ice on local reservoirs, though you might get your feet wet at shore where ice has melted. Also, you're going to get wet out on the ice because of melting, he said.
The one place to avoid is Lake Zumbro, where anglers will find up to 30 feet of open water along the shore, he said. That isn't necessarily because the ice is melting; rather, the lake and the Zumbro River are rising due to snowmelt.
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Fishing reports have not been great recently, but then again, it's been a spotty winter overall. There have been some good reports now and then, including out of lakes in the Faribault area, but in general, it's been a lackluster year for ice anglers.
