OSHKOSH — Sturgeon spearing season opens Saturday and people were out on Lake Winnebago making preparations Friday afternoon. Fortunately for them, the ice is safe...mostly.
Don Herman sits on the board of Otter Street Fishing Club in Oshkosh and runs Sunk? Dive and Ice Service. He says the lake currently has "between 9 and about 16, 17" inches of ice, but that total varies widely from place to place. Herman says that thickness makes the ice mostly safe for foot and ATV traffic, but he urges vehicles to use caution.
“I recommend right now…4-wheelers and UTVs..." he said, "...the ice can turn pretty quick because we only got like a 15-inch base.”
Herman says unusually warm temperatures this winter have kept the ice too thin for Otter Street to clear roads across the lake and cover cracks with bridges, the first time they've been unable to do so since 2011. Fisherman Matt Starr says he thinks this will discourage people from heading out onto the ice.
“I think a lot of people will stay home…" said Starr, "...it’s a feeling of safety when the clubs set the bridges and mark tree lines and roads. With them checking the ice daily and not feeling confident to set them out, I think it makes a lot of people a little nervous about ice conditions.”
Herman said that while the ice conditions are good for the moment "it won't take long for it to go bad," as the temperature warms over the coming days.
He recommends drivers leave doors unlocked and windows down to allow for a quick escape if their vehicle breaks through and asks people to remember one critical rule of ice safety.
“The ice is never 100% safe," Herman said, "you always gotta remember that.”
