Just thought a thread about thickness and saftey would be a good topic. Driving around seeing the ice forming is getting me excited. Dark brook res is looking pretty good maybe another week or so had about 5 to 6 inchs right off the shore. POst your reports so we can get this season started
I must agree- getting very excited for some ice fishing in the near future. The weather reports indicated we should have some cold temps in the high teens and low 20's for the next 10 days over night and low to mid 30's during the days which shouldn't effect the ice much because the days are short. I was out walking around on Lake Maspenock in Hopkinton this morning- there were some people playing hockey. The ice is about 3 inches on the basin I live off of- the water is fairly shallow- 2-5 feet in most spots due to the town dropping the water level about 5 feet but still deep enough to pull out some fish. I'm going to monitor the ice and I intend to put some holes in the ice either Monday or Thursday as I have no work those days. I'll provide an update after my first outing which will hopefully include pictures of some quality bass and pickerel.
You only need 3-4 inches of clear ice to be able to stay out there...sounds like Dark brook is good to go, if you've got 5-6" already. I know people are fishing close to the NH border right now, and in the hills north of Worcester...I checked out a small pond in Stoneham yesterday and it had 2". Stood for a minute out there, then got back to shore before I went through...It should be good by next week hopefully, might sneak out before weekend!
3 streets over from my house is a little pond called mill pond, I dont have the balls to walk out onto the ice yet! How do you know if it is safe to walk out? I do know that the depth of the pond is no more than 6 ft at its deepest point. Iam guessn if you take a few steps out and your boot goes threw the ice it isnt thick enough yet. It has been frozen over for more than 10 days now, but there is a small currant that flows throw the middle of the pond under a bridge into the other side of the pond. Any help with this would be great, I really dont want to make the news!
You should invest in a spud, I've been using mine a bunch this year so far, basically a big metal spear that you can 1. cut holes in ice 2. open up your frozen holes or holes used a previous day 3. make holes bigger for when you pull the big hogs in and your hole isn't big enough 
If you don't have a spud, you could bring your auger, or maybe a spade shovel/garden edge/other sharp lawn tool...
If the ice is clear it is stronger than when its clouded. I walked out on a pond today, cut a hole with the spud and it was about 3" of clear ice. I walked all over the main basin checking ice thickness, all about the same. I don't think I would feel safe with much less, but this ice wasn't making any noise and felt real solid.
Definitely stick close to shore at first...then move out further. Don't forget to bring ice picks to pull yourself out if the ice does give out. I've heard of people wearing life jackets during early ice too.
If you don't have a spud, you could bring your auger, or maybe a spade shovel/garden edge/other sharp lawn tool...
If the ice is clear it is stronger than when its clouded. I walked out on a pond today, cut a hole with the spud and it was about 3" of clear ice. I walked all over the main basin checking ice thickness, all about the same. I don't think I would feel safe with much less, but this ice wasn't making any noise and felt real solid.
Definitely stick close to shore at first...then move out further. Don't forget to bring ice picks to pull yourself out if the ice does give out. I've heard of people wearing life jackets during early ice too.
I hit up Lake Maspy solo style on Monday- from around 10:30am to 3:00pm. I had 5 traps out and started close to the shore to ensure safety. I grew more confidence as the day went on and cautiously spread out a bit more. The ice seemed solid in almost all spots I covered- varied from 3 to 4 1/2 inches of ice. I only had 3 tip ups but no catches, 2 of them were robbed clean and only one did I feel a fish on but not long enough to get it through the ice. It was great just to get out and ofcourse not fall through the ice. I personally use a large chipper called "The Mutt". It's great as Ted pointed out to make holes a little larger than the auger and awesome for repeat use of holes and lastly great for walking on the ice incase of a potential break in the ice. I intend to go out again tomorrow for the majority of the day. We are suppose to have a week of cold air temps after today so I'm pretty confident that the ice will be real solid but as always use caution, especially on new terrain.
I know the Berkshires are solid. I read online guys are fishing 6-8" of ice already. I heard the big pike are biting out there too...
I fished a spot in Sudbury/Lincoln area yesterday on 3" of clear ice. It was solid, the lake is real shallow right now though, I didn't find a spot deeper than 3 1/2 feet.
I fished a spot in Sudbury/Lincoln area yesterday on 3" of clear ice. It was solid, the lake is real shallow right now though, I didn't find a spot deeper than 3 1/2 feet.