A lot of ice in the Muskoka area is not ready for the weight of vehicles and huts.
But a company offering ice fishing adventures on Three Mile Lake says where they are it is all systems go.
Karina White is the owner of Muskoka Shores Cottages, a business that this time of year offers ice fishing. She says they were able to get huts on the ice in December, one of the earliest starts she can recall in some years.
“We had nine and a half inches of ice on December 26th,” says White.
While people are on the ice fishing, she says the takes have not been as good as in previous years but it is quickly improving. Typically people catch perch and pickerel.
While the lake she is on has produced good ice early, experiences vary wildly as each body of water has a number of factors affecting when and how much ice will build up.
“It depends on the movement of the lake, and the depth of the lake,” she explains. “Some lakes have more of a flow to them.”
White says it is important that you get in touch with a local ice fishing operator on the lake you want to go on or it could end in disaster.
“I post (online) where I am on the lake and how much ice we have,” says White. “Right now we have 18 inches of ice.”
Each lake is very different depending on which lakes are spring fed versus river fed, and that, along with consistently cold temperatures determines whether or not ice can build up consistently.