Not Ice-In

At the beginning of last week the lake was wide open. There were bits of ice on the edges, but a ski run was possible and, if we had a boat in, probable. But there were no boats, docks, or piers in. Though there were lots of birds splashing about.

There were more mergansers than could be accurately counted and even a few loons and swans for good measure.

As the week went on, the lake water got colder. Historic signs and portents of ice-in began to appear. Large stretches of shoreline were without ice, but rocks and other shoreline lumps began to accumulate frozen coats.

Branches on the shore looked disturbingly like those during the ice storm at the beginning of April.

Despite the sub-zeroness, there was significant open water in the mid-southern part of the lake.

It was easy to see the openness from a bar stool at Waters Edge.

All the birds that were swimming up the north end of Lucerne before mid-week, migrated to the open water two miles south.

There was even an eagle.

There was a small snow event on Friday. It made it simpler to see the parts of the lake that were iced and, more importantly, the parts that were still skiable.

On Saturday, only a small patch of openness existed on the north end and the openness in the south was smaller.

By Sunday the north was, except for a few pressure cracks, iced tight, but there was still some open in the south.

We are unsure when Lake Metonga suffered ice-in. All we know for sure is that it was on December 7th or earlier. I'd give it a week or two before an army of ice-fishers set up shop over the walleye and perch.

Ice-In? No, not yet. There's still open water in the south-ish on Sunday just before sunset. It's gonna get ugly cold and footingly calm in the wee hours of Monday. I'd be surprised if any of the lake remains open after the 10th. In addition to the impending ice-in, there's growing frost in the ground, annoying ice on Hwy W, and a goodly amount of snow everywhere. Building forts for the coming Annual Lake Lucerne Bottle Rocket War (January 17th, 2026) will not be bedevilled by a lack of building material. Looks to be a good snowmobile season, too.

-Nemo got a warmer jacket just in time.

Not Ice-In

December 1st through 7th, 2025