OK....i have been watching this thread develop, figured i will chime in my two cents since the up ground was in my back yard for many yrs. Just to raise everyones awareness . The lakes map doesn't truly represent the true water levels. a few yrs back the division of water discovered slipping in the walls of the up ground, they decided to lower the water levels considerably to lesson the pressure against the walls and reduce the risk of a wall blowout. They will not repair the up ground, saying it would cost too much to repair and its never been used as an actual water supply, it was built as an experiment in up ground building. there was talk about draining it completely and breaching the walls, turning it into another marsh. But this has not happened, and i seriously doubt it will anytime soon. The div. of wildlife does not maintain it, belongs to the div of water. Also div. of wildlife stopped the stocking program the following yr that the div of water lowered the levels.
The ice can be very,very weird out there, please use caution.
Keep in mind that there is a 10 bluegill, 10 crappie limit and a bass slot length on killdeer plains and yes the up ground falls under this.
I wish you all well, look forward to reading about your trip.