Don Herman from the Otter Street Fishing Club checks the Lake Winnebago ice in Oshkosh, February 3, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
LAKE WINNEBAGO (WTAQ-WLUK) — Hopes are high for many people heading outdoors for some fun on the ice this weekend.
The recent cold snap comes as good news, but is it enough to make up for a warm start to the season?
In nearly 50 years of plowing, ice expert Don Herman says it’s about the worst start to the Lake Winnebago campaign he’s seen.
“There’s only one other time we didn’t put the bridges out, and that was in 2011. And it might be this year,” said Don Herman, Otter Street Fishing Club Director.
Herman says ice needs to be at least 12 inches thick to install bridges capable of carrying vehicles over cracks in the ice. He checked the conditions Friday morning off the Merritt Avenue Landing in Oshkosh.
“Right here, where we’re standing, there’s a crack. Right here, there’s another crack. We only have like nine inches here. We have the four-wheeler bridges out, so you can come out here with a UTV, snowmobile. People are driving out on the other side of the lake. Their ice conditions are better on the other side of the lake. There, they have about a foot of ice, but we can’t here,” he said.
On the eastern shoreline, The Quinney Fishing Club installed its tree line and vehicle bridges earlier in the week, but, there is a warning.
“They’re just telling everybody don’t drive all the way across the lake, because it’s only like 10 inches from here to about 200 yards out, and then it goes to 12,” said Herman.
Ice conditions will be on the minds of many at the 62nd annual Otter Street Fishing Club Fisheree at Menominee Park in Oshkosh. Millers Bay will host a 12-team pond hockey tournament. Food, beverages, and fun will be offered inside the tent.
“This has always been our flagship event. Ever since the beginning, we’ve always has this,” said Chris Anderson, Otter Street Fishing Club President.
Anderson says Saturday’s Fisheree is a major fundraiser.
“Just maintaining the trucks, and the bridges, and for plowing the roads. We do a big fisheree in August. That’s free to 300 kids,” he said.
Back on the ice, Don Herman says in the near future, warmer days are expected.
“We need another 4-5 days of cold weather to firm this up. But I don’t think we’re going to get it,” he said.
The Otter Street Fishing Club Fisheree begins Saturday at 8 a.m.
For those venturing out on the lakes, experts warn that no ice is ever considered to be 100 percent safe.
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