The arctic air has arrived in the door peninsula and the bay is starting to freeze over at a pretty rapid rate. There is still considerable open water in some area. The big difference this year is the water temperature in the bay at freezing. The prior couple of years the falls have been mild leading into the winter which resulted in warmer water temperatures. So when the cold did arrive the water was still warmer. That is not the case this year.  We are hopeful that if the extended forecast stay accurate we should be fishing in two weeks!

The cold winds have made an early appearance in Door County the last couple of days. There is some ice starting to form in the shallow protected bays of the county. The cold and winds are welcomed to help cool the big portions of the bay, compared to last year when we had 50’s and 60s in December. These temps and wind are crucial to setting the stage for a good ice pack on the bay. We are booking trips for the upcoming year and looking forward to see everyone this winter!

captain JJ

12/2/2024

Sorry for the lack of posting. Here is a quick run down of the current ice conditions. Despite the cold blast we had mid January we still have vast amounts of open water in the bay of Green Bay. After this short arctic blast myself and another guide chartered an air plane to survey the ice pack on the Bay. We took this ride on the 14th of January. What we observed was very similar to what we saw last year. Large open sections of water, what we call thermal pockets. This was very disappointing to see. We continued our ride north through Green Island and Chambers Island. We saw large opens sections of water and wide cracks transecting the bay.

The fallowing week the temperatures rose into the mid 30’s. We have had above normal temperatures since then. Much of the ice on the bay is being manipulated by the by the winds and currents. Nothing is locked in. The near shore ice is 8-12″ but is severely compromised with the prolonged above normal temperatures.

Looking ahead we are hoping we can offer some fishing opportunities if the weather cooperates mid month and beyond. This is really disappoint to have another year similar to last year, however there is growing confidence for colder temps to coming into the later half of February and early march. Time will tell.

Thanks Captain JJ

This is looking west towards Marinette WI, Large crack runs north through the middle of the bay.
This pictures is  chambers island looknig north towards Sister Bay
This picture is looking west, Sherwood Point is on the left. This is near where we fish. 

The Arctic air has arrived! It’s been single digit for the day and we are expected to be below zero every night. This will help build ice on the bay but we are faced with some pretty strong winds this week. It remains to be seen what will come from this cold snap. The inner bays skimmed over Saturday evening and will continue to put on a pretty good ice pack. We have seven more very cold days and early next week we warm up a little for a few days. We will keep this updated daily!

We are on the cusp of some very cold air to overspread Green Bay, we are very optImistic this will catapult us in get out on the ice! We will see what it does! The cold air arrives Saturday and by all indications the cold air does not leave anytime soon!
As ice forms we will provide updated ice reports!

Hey everyone, I’m sure like you we are anxious to get on the ice. We are experiencing  some really mild temperature and currently have no ice. We are optimistic we will be out there mid to late January. The long range forecasts look promising!  We have very limited weekend availability, week days are still fairly open. We  Will post updates as conditions allow!

Looking forward to seeing everyone

captain JJ

Here are some pictures of the ice leading up to the ice blowing out on 2-7-23. I have the schedule open for the 2024 season,thanks everyone for understanding and I’ll see ya next year!

I have never in my 13 years of guiding seen such poor ice conditions on Green Bay. Heading into winter it looked very optimistic for an earlier than usual start to our guide season. This idea quickly faded as we had a record warm January for our area. There was virtually no ice made the entire month of January. Fast forward to the end of January where we did receive some cold air. This was unfortunately not enough and to late for what we needed going into February. The area did not get cold long enough. We tried to stay optimistic going into February in hopes we would get the cold we needed.

The past week myself and a network of guides have exhausted every possible resource to checking the ice pack on Green Bay. We walked numerous miles on the ice every day, drilled hundreds of holes, marked roads, and created back up plans to evolving conditions. Myself and another guide chartered a airplane twice in the last week to physically see the condition of the ice on the bay. This proved to be invaluable information to help us predict and foresee what happened today. The strong southerly winds today in combination with the vast amount of open water allowed the ice to peel away from the eastern side of the bay where we are located. Leading up to this we could see the signs and triggers for this to happen.

The ice pack is beyond repair at this point to access our off shore whitefish locations given the current conditions and forecast for the next two weeks.

This is a really tough decision, but a calculated one. There are many things that go on behind the scenes leading up taking people out on the ice. The amount of time, effort and handwork are all done to ensure safety for everyone out there. It has to be this way, and it will always be that way. Safety is always first.

This is one of my most favorite times of the year, and I really am going to miss it. Over the past years I have made so many lasting relationships with all my customers and I consider most of them friends. I thank all of you for taking a chance on that “kid” 13 years ago and booking a ice fishing trip, your what keep me and my team going! We look forward to getting out deep next year, lots of whitefish lives will be spared this year!

Captain JJ Malvitz
JJs Guide Service

We are on track with colder temperatures predicted beginning later in the upcoming weekend. We are hopeful to begin guiding operations for the 2023 season later next week. The main challenge is trying to figure out with the predicted temperatures when we will exactly begin our guiding operations. Like every year we will monitor it daily and walk the ice to ensure safe passage. We have all of our equipment ready to go. The ice shacks are ready, and the rods are tied. Just need the bay to freeze across and lock into the islands in the northern half of Green Bay.
Here is a aerial shot from today

There finally appears to be some cold in the near future. We have a lot of ground to make up in regards to our ice formation on the bay. This next cold snap appears to arrive over the next weekend. The anticipated cold will accelerate the much-needed ice formation on the bay. We are very hopeful that we will be able to begin guiding operations the first week of February. This all depends on how cold it gets and the amount of wind. This will be the latest start I’ve had in my guiding career. Myself and my team are really looking forward to seeing everyone and a successful season.