 Last year at this time, many lakes were experiencing an early ice out. For this week's Northwood's adventure, our Josh Peterson shows us how the ongoing winter like conditions this year could impact the upcoming fishing opener in May. Trucks hauling snowmobiles. A common sight for January and February. But not for the month of April. This year's ongoing winter has left many wondering when spring will finally reach the North Country and when will we see open water again. With ice thick enough to safely drive on, we could be waiting a while. We really haven't lost any ice yet. This is as thick as it's been all winter probably, but still got some snow cover that's insulating it so we're not going to lose ice until the snow is gone. Currently on some area lakes, ice is still over 36 inches thick. While this is not uncommon for Minnesota, there's still something extremely unique about this year's ice conditions. It's probably not thicker than normal, but usually we'd have been losing some of that ice by now. We'd be starting the downhill slide on it, but it's not the case this year. This cool weather, the nights getting below zero yet, we're actually making ice when that's occurring. At just about any boat access around Lake Bemidji, a steady stream of vehicles pass through to see if there's any sign of the ice weakening. But as many can see, there is no such luck. In less than a month, this public boat access should be filled with trucks, boats and trailers for the Minnesota fishing opener. But because of this ongoing winter, it's created an interesting dynamic for a new local business. Across the road from the Lake Bemidji Northwoods water access sits Northwoods bait and tackle, where its store management thought they would be gearing up for open water season, not ice fishing season. Definitely expecting a little different scenery than we have right now with the frozen lake out our front door here, but you know, we can't beat Mother Nature, all we can do is roll with the punches. With a bait shop gearing up for its grand opening in just over a week, no matter what the lake conditions are, they say they're ready for just about anything. Whether it's by boat, by ice or by shore, we're going to have everybody covered with the bait that they need and we're going to be here, we're going to be open and available for whatever their needs are. With warm sunny days ahead, the hope is that Mother Nature will make some headway melting down that ice. With this week's Northwoods adventure, in Bemidji, Josh Peterson, Lakeland News. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.