A return to the deep freeze should send a lot of anglers to the ice this week.

And they should be conscious of changing ice conditions. Mild temperatures and rain early in the week pounded away at what had been a pretty solid sheet of ice on lakes and backwaters. The deterioration is more apparent across the southern half of the state; with slow current winding through old stream beds.

To the north, many ice anglers barely left their posts. Temperatures have been colder longer. Ice came earlier and thicker. Ahead of the thaw late this month, reports on Clear Lake ranged from 10 to 18 inches thick. That was thick enough for small towns to form there and on some of the bigger waters through the state.