DOOR COUNTY, Wis (NBC 26) -- Currently there are dozens of stranded ice shacks on the Bay of Green Bay. Many of them had to be abandoned after an ice break near Sturgeon Bay, left nearly 70 anglers stuck on the ice in need of rescue from the Coast Guard. Tonight, NBC26 looks into the potential consequences for not getting your ice shacks and other equipment off of the ice, before they make their way to the bottom of the lake.
With the assistance of the Coast Guard, DNR, Door County Sheriff's office, and local fire departments, 66 people were rescued from the Bay of Green Bay on Thursday. And before the ice melts, which shouldn't happen for some time, all the equipment will have to be saved too.
"There's maybe 20 shacks and maybe a couple of four-wheelers left," says Tom Drezeriecki the owner of Bayside Ice and Maine Recovery.
Drezeriecki was there on Thursday assisting some of the anglers getting their equipment off of the floating sheets of ice, and he doesn't anticipate his services being needed for much more, being that the ice break will likely freeze over soon.
"They will tow them off the ice with just a couple of missed days of fishing or a couple missed days of (fish) guiding."
But for those who haven't had a vehicle or ice shack taken off the ice yet, Drezeriecki says it could be costly if it ends up at the bottom of the lake. And we're not talking 100's to thousands of dollars, but much, much more.
"Probably thousands to thousands (of dollars). It's closer to that."
And the stress for folks who didn't get their equipment off the ice in time doesn't stop there. Conservation Warden Jeff Lautenslager with the DNR says wardens will try to work with people to make sure their equipment gets retrieved, but the clock is ticking.
"If they go through (the ice) there's a 30-day window when ATVs and UTVs have to be removed. If they are not removed within that 30-day window citations can be issued."
Lautenslager says after 30 days people can be fined up to 389 dollars every single day their vehicle sits on the bottom of the lake. And if your ice shack ends up sinking too, the fine drops to around 200 dollars a day after 30 days of being submerged.
"It's the last resort but citations can be issued if they need to be."
But for the anglers who endured an ice fishing experience unlike most on Thursday, Lautenslager says the cold weather will likely prevent citations for sinking equipment coming into play...
"I have full faith they will be retrieved safely, and we won't have any issues."
