Lake Winnebago seen on Dec. 26, 2023. PC: Fox 11 Online
NEENAH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — As officials in Shawano County investigate the death of a 78-year-old ice fisherman found at Lulu Lake, the county’s sheriff’s department reported several other people have recently fallen through the ice as well.
“The ice is never 100% safe,” Don Herman, owner of SUNK? Dive and Ice Service said.
Though this is a good reminder at any time, those words are perhaps even more important now, as Northeast Wisconsin experiences unseasonably warm and even record-breaking temperatures.
“Normally these temperatures are like in March and now we have them in December,” Herman said. “I’ve been doing this for 48 years and I haven’t seen a year like this for quite a while — where we don’t have any ice around right after Christmas.”
Officials are reporting dangerous ice conditions in Shawano County and urging people to stay off the ice as a precaution.
The same cannot be said in Oshkosh, where the water in Lake Winnebago looks more like what you might see in the summer.
“We’re probably gonna make some ice for bays for people to walk out fishing, but it’s not going to be for four-wheelers and snowmobiles,” Herman said. “I can’t see that happening for at least another three weeks.”
Herman has been in the ice fishing game for decades. He says the earlier parts of the season make for the best fishing, but from a safety standpoint, it’s best to wait.
“When it gets below 32 [degrees] it makes ice, but it doesn’t make very good ice until we get around zero,” Herman said.
That’s advice first responders like Tyler Hilland with the Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue also want to stress.
If you’re going to venture out on foot, we’re looking for four inches minimum. Carrying some safety equipment with you, which we call ice awls or ice picks, around your neck — so in case you fall through, you’re able to climb out, safety rope. Telling people where you’re going and especially knowing where you’re going. You don’t want to go out on ice that hasn’t been traveled by other people.
Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue responds to a number of incidents of people falling through water each year, meaning they need to be prepared for when that time comes.
“If we get dispatched for an ice rescue, you’re going to be getting two boats with a multitude of people,” Hillard said. “We have dive capabilities here. The biggest thing is trying to keep that person on the edge of the ice until rescue crews arrive.”
Hilland said ice should be five to eight inches thick for ATV travel and at least a foot thick for truck travel.
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