Minnesota's 2024 ice fishing season looking much better than last year's
LAKE MINNETONKA, Minn. — This winter is already shaping up to be colder and icier than last winter and that's a good thing for ice fishing.
Mason Koonce is happy the temperature's dropped so low because his business depends on it.
He's an ice fishing guide on Lake Minnetonka who owns Tonka Ice House Rentals.
Koonce journeyed out onto the lake Thursday to measure the thickness of the ice.
At 8 to 9 inches, he says it's not ready yet for pulling an ice house out.
He's only comfortable with at least a foot, and that's using an ATV, not a car.
"If the temperatures keep trending in the right direction, we should have a good, long winter," he said.
Koonce says last year he was only able to rent out ice houses for one week the entire winter. In a normal winter, he says it's normally at least two months.
"People were very scared last year. They were very cautious last year," Koonce said. "This year, I've noticed a lot of the customers, or potential customers, are a lot more optimistic and excited about ice fishing."
Nick Skallerud from Medina stopped by the Carson's Bay boat launch to test the ice himself.
"It looks pretty solid, and I can see way out where other people have been drilling some holes," he said. "It's looking pretty good and should be even better after today."
Koonce says you'll want at least 4 or 5 inches of ice to walk on the lake, but the Department of Natural Resources reminds us that no ice is ever 100% safe.
Cloudy ice can also be significantly weaker than clear ice.
