Well its looks like I have to chime in a bit of the conditions on our end of the lake. Upper red lake is a huge body of water and freezes up different every year. One year it glazed over in one night and the ice was so smooth I could of put on ice skates and skated all the way to gilbar on the north shore which I would say is 5 miles away.
This year as the shore line was slowing making ice we got very cold temps with a nnw wind. Each wave would hit the ice pack and some water would spray into the air where it would ice up or lets say turn into snow. By morning it was ice as far as the eye could see. It stayed cold and the wind died down a bit . I couple days later another big wind came more winds from the wsw and again pounded ice into the eastern side of the lake. That why the water is or was so stirred up underneath. Some ice broke up further out and was driven under and over the ice making shelf ice where it could be twice as thick. As far as I know the ice pack on our end never broke loose from shore quite a ways out and we kept making ice. Even though it was warn down in the cites one day there was a 25 degree difference they were at 40 and we were at 15. Opening deer season was a week of cold, cold, cold. If I remember one night it was 8 below.
I’m very confident that we have plenty of ice on this corner of the lake. No wheelers, or sleds have broken through on this end that I have heard of. Buddy hillmen of hillmens resort has staked his road out quite a ways “miles”. same with westwind and beacon harbor. There was a crack out at 3 miles that did separate but the wind drove it back together and made quite a pile of stacked ice out 3 miles. Westwind and hillmens is requesting know one try and jump or travel over it. Is the ice 100 percent safe, No it never is. Common sense is a must, If it does not look right its probably not right.
I have had a few fishermen here and they all have measured 9 to 10 inches of ice. The area I plan on scoping out today could have 11 ? The fishing has been pretty darn good with pink and gold shining. One day they want jigging the next day dead stick. This end is allowing wheelers, sleds and side by side out to the pressure ridge around 2.5 to 3 miles. There’s plenty of fish and space, there is no reason to venture any further. Just use good common sense.
If you do choose to come up check in with the resorts, they have been on the ice every day .