BARRIE -- Despite the early blast of snow and ice in November, this winter has been unpredictable.

Ice anglers are eager to hit the lake, but the weather has some thinking twice.

Dale Carrick and Josh Castellano ventured out onto Lake Simcoe on Monday morning in Gilford to test the waters.

"Took the spud bar, made a few holes, went through pretty easy, so we decided not to go out," admitted Dale Carrick. "Another day, another week."

"Fish isn't worth my life," said Castellano.

Ice hut operators are encouraging everyone to stay off the ice.

There was one private hut spotted on the ice today.

"You've got to have at least six inches of good, solid blue ice to put a permanent hut out," explained Jack Hayward of the Blue Ice Report. "Right now, we've only got three inches and less in spots."

"Once we have six inches of ice, we're good to go out there. No machines at that point. We want machines to wait until there are about eight to 10 inches," added Ron Shephard with Cook's Bay Marina.

Cooler temperatures are in the forecast over the next few days, but by Friday, Environment Canada is predicting highs of six degrees with a chance of rain for the area.

Check with your local ice hut operator before heading out.