NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As people towed their boats in and out of Lake Winnebago this weekend, Chris Acy was there to greet them with ice packs.
“It’s a good way to keep your fish fresh.”
Acy also asked them questions like: have you taken your boat in any other body of water recently?
“Because it could harbor invasive species such as zebra mussels or a fish disease called viral hemorrhagic septicemia that could be transported from one lake to another.”
He was at the Neenah Rec.’s public boat launch as part of a statewide partnership with the DNR. It’s called the ‘Drain Campaign’.
The cold packs are for the fisherman and to remind them that icing down their catch is the best way to keep the fish fresh.
Now that boat launches are at their busiest, the ‘Drain Campaign’ is meant to make sure people know they need to clean any plants that are stuck to their trailers or boats and drain the lake water from any live wells.
“Be aware that you can’t take any lake water with you when you leave a launch,” said Acy.
“They have to drain all buckets, all live wells. They have to drain their bilges, everything like that.”
Acy tells FOX 11 contamination can cause a large die-off of fish.