Because ...

Because gas prices are low and now I have a car that gets triple the MPG of the Expedition I am now able to take trips I normally wouldn't.  Today I drove to check out Shakopee Lake and Mille Lacs.  Shakopee was way less open than I anticipated and Mille Lacs is just weird.  The small cattail bay in Vineland Bay was wide open, which I didn't expect and there was less open water than I expected at the Whitefish Lake Inlet.

I was a little surprised by how open Platte had become with today's wind.  Channel Inn Bay was completely wide open beyond the north tip of the Small Island.

The Big Island is dead center behind the darker ice line. The Small Island ends at fat pine tree

The Platte River Outlet (SPRO) was completely ice free in Sullivan and well into the Intersection.

Intersection is the area beyond that point on the left

The view from the Platte Lake Access and other area lakes is about as promising as the 5 day forecast, that would be not much.

Platte Lake Public Access

I think Platte will probably be ice free on Saturday, matching the day it went off in 2012 just under very different conditions.  In 2012 Platte opened during a lengthy warm stretch.  The bullheads were there almost immediately and the fishing got very good very fast. With the long term forecast being what it is I don't expect a repeat performance.  But I never know and that's why I'll go.

I did fish tonight for about 30 minutes before I decided I was more likely to catch a cold than a fish.  Conditions were very breezy out of the NW, cloudy, and 40 degrees.