ND Game and Fish urges patience before hitting ice for fishing

FARGO — Just because it looks like winter outside doesn’t mean it’s safe to go ice fishing yet.

Doug Leier with North Dakota Game and Fish says the quick drop in temperatures will actually prolong the ice-forming and thickening process.

On top of that, a layer of snow can make it harder to see potential danger on the ice.

Leier says if you love to ice fish, you will want to be patient and use a lot of caution.

"This is probably as bad of early ice conditions or early ice-making recipe they could have asked for to go from warm temperatures to cold temperatures to wind and to mix snow in there with that," Leier said.

Leier also says that even if the ice seems thick enough, you should double and triple check it for safety.