I feel like there has to be some tips and tricks for dealing with slush on a slightly above freezing day. What do you guys do when the lake is covered in it and you are on 6-8” ice or so where driving out is not an option? Just slop around in it all day and accept that everything you brought is gonna be soaked or do something else?
I put on my alphaburly’s and slop around in it all day. I pack really light since it’s barely above freezing and hole hop a lot. Keep everything in an otter/jet sled. One of the best fishing trips I’ve ever had was last January when northern MN lakes had slush up to your shins. Every single reservation except ours cancelled at the resort. We slopped around all weekend in the slush but had the entire lake to ourselves, literally never saw another person fishing. The fishing was outstanding
I feel like there has to be some tips and tricks for dealing with slush on a slightly above freezing day. What do you guys do when the lake is covered in it and you are on 6-8” ice or so where driving out is not an option? Just slop around in it all day and accept that everything you brought is gonna be soaked or do something else?
yea i’m waiting till it refreezes!!!!! been there done that way more than i care to admit and not going through it again.
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Adam Steffes wrote:</div>
I feel like there has to be some tips and tricks for dealing with slush on a slightly above freezing day. What do you guys do when the lake is covered in it and you are on 6-8” ice or so where driving out is not an option? Just slop around in it all day and accept that everything you brought is gonna be soaked or do something else?yea i’m waiting till it refreezes!!!!! been there done that way more than i care to admit and not going through it again.
this is what I dealt with 3rd week of December
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We were slipping around yesterday in it. It’s doable with the right boots. Wish I would’ve worn my mucks. I had a pair of lower hiking style boots since it was warm. Some water got over the tops and my feet got wet. It was warm so not a big deal.
Good footwear and you’re fine. Lay everything out to dry when you get home.
SxS out to the crappie spot last night, had the pedal to the metal with the Commander 1000 going thru the slush, max speed was 10 mph but made it thru.
Well worth it, a bucket full of slabs. Drilled 25 holes and marked multiple fish in each hole.
Slopped around in my Mickey Mouse boots with no problemo.
Livescope was lit up like a x-mas tree, very cool.
Coming back was just as difficult but the Commander plowed thru.
fyi – chandelier hooked euro out fished minnow head 4 to 1. I had minnow head 
Snowshoes and rubber boots
I have a pair of Baffin Titans that I wear. Most of the ice fishing specific bibs are waterproof so as long as you don’t go past the top of the boots you stay dry. Walking in the stuff sucks something fierce though.
Get past the slush and sit on hard pack.
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Thanks guys – I got some titans just the other day and they do a great job of keeping the feet dry. I was able to keep a few things dry like my rod case by keeping stuff in the sled. Its just a big pain playing an adult version of “the floor is lava” when you are trying to keep kids warm!
I fished Shawano Lake WI last week. Very slushy on Friday with appx 2 inches of fresh snow. Smithy sled w/h helped dragging the sled since we could not drive. Harness was a must.
Weight is the enemy. Take less, use snowshoes, and pack a platform with your snowshoes every time you sit. Some of the best fishing days have been sitting on a bucket under a golf umbrella with snowshoes on all day.
One further tip: Late season, guys have been known to wear waders, which are both warm and keep you dry no matter what. If you have to wade out melted edges to get to solid ice, they are good for that too.
If you have the kind of slush that is formed by a thick cover of snow sinking the ice raft, keeping on top of the snow by using snowshoes, and moving once that area gets saturated and soft, is the best strategy.
In that kind of conditions, an old snowmobile or sled track can be just enough harder than the surrounding snow to support your weight.
Waders do sound like a decent idea but man I hate walking very far in them due to my lack of cardio conditioning! Maybe its not as bad on the ice but trudging through sloughs in the fall sure sucks the wind out of your sails. Makes you really reconsider those breakfast burritos too if you plan to spend much time on the ice
We ran into a major slush problem in the NW Angle a couple of years ago, that stuff is no joke. The resort we stayed at buried a tracked Suburban, and I dunked my Polaris snowmobile. The only fix was to shovel it out and go back the way we came.
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