When Does Big Fish Lake Freeze? Typical Ice-In Dec 3, Ice-Out Apr 13
Big Fish Lake in Stearns County, Minnesota usually freezes over around Dec 3, and usually has ice-out around Apr 13, based on Minnesota DNR ice observations recorded between 1996-2013. That works out to roughly 234 days of open water a year. These are typical dates across many winters, not a forecast — individual years swing by weeks in either direction.
Ice record for Big Fish Lake
| Typical freeze-up (ice-in) | Dec 3 |
| Typical ice-out | Apr 13 |
| Earliest freeze-up on record | Nov 21, 1996 |
| Latest freeze-up on record | Dec 21, 1998 |
| Earliest ice-out on record | Mar 19, 2012 |
| Latest ice-out on record | May 9, 2013 |
| Open-water season | ~234 days |
| Winters observed | 40 |
| Location | Stearns County, Minnesota |
These are dates, not an ice-safety reading
A typical freeze-up date tells you when Big Fish Lake has usually iced over — it does not tell you the ice is safe, and we hold no thickness measurement for this or any lake. The Minnesota DNR is explicit that no ice is ever completely safe: thickness varies across a single lake, and current, springs, aerators, and insulating snow all weaken it. Ice that held a truck last week may not hold a person today.
Read the ice-thickness guidelines before going out, and check current conditions with the Minnesota DNR ice-safety page and local bait shops, which track conditions lake by lake.
How much the timing varies
Ice-out on Big Fish Lake has landed as early as Mar 19, 2012 and as late as May 9, 2013 — a spread of weeks around the Apr 13 median. Freeze-up has ranged from Nov 21, 1996 to Dec 21, 1998. That year-to-year swing is why a median date is a planning tool, not a schedule. Freeze-up is driven by accumulated cold after the lake turns over in fall; ice-out by late-winter air temperature, sun angle, and how much snow sits on top of the ice reflecting it. The full nutrient and algae breakdown for Big Fish Lake is on the lake report.
Source: Minnesota DNR Climate Office ice-in / ice-out records, observations from 1996-2013.
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