This winter has been a good one for ice boaters on Lake Winnebago. Thick, solid, smooth ice dominates the lake with very little snow in the way. January 27, 2025. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Smooth, solid ice as far as you can see. Lake Winnebago is almost entirely solid as a rock, following what’s been a cold January so far.
Andy Gratton, an avid ice boater involved with multiple organizations in Wisconsin, says conditions are picture-perfect for their hobby right now.
“One fella sailed from Fond du Lac almost to Fresh Air Park in Neenah and then back again a couple days ago… He averaged around 55 miles per hour,” says Gratton.
Warmer weather is on the horizon, though. Monday’s high climbed above freezing, well into the 30s. And by Thursday, we could be flirting with 50.
This comes just ahead of the 2025 Wisconsin Stern Steering Association regatta, scheduled for this weekend in Fond du Lac. But Gratton isn’t worried.
16 to 18 inches of ice doesn’t just disappear overnight, and that’s what Lake Winnebago has almost all across the lake. And if anything, the warm-up might even help their cause.
“Melting during the day and then freezing at night, it smooths it out really nice. It’s not all ice skateable, some of it’s kind of rough for that. But it’s perfectly fine for what we want to do… It’s nature’s Zamboni. We love it,” says Gratton.
While the bare ice is a dream for ice boating, it can be a mixed bag for ice fishermen and spearers — and sturgeon spearing is sneaking up on us quickly, now less than two weeks away.
Jim Nobbe is the bridge and plow chair for Payne’s Point Hook and Spear Fishing Club. Even with the warm forecast, he’s more worried about the people than the ice itself.
He also assists with Sunk? Ice and Dive recovery, and says this winter has been busy for recoveries, despite the good ice conditions.
Even “good” ice is still prone to weak spots and cracks, and without snow on the ice, people can basically drive wherever they want.
“When we have snow, we can just plow roads right to where the bridges are from shore. For people, it’s just like driving down the street. People can follow it and we can guide people,” says Nobbe. “It’s easier to keep people away from bad ice and ice shoves and new open cracks or water. So that part of it makes it harder.”
Nobbe also says snow on the ice can also insulate and protect it from warm days. But he says the ice is so thick and solid, he’s not worried about the forecast.
For that same reason, even the whipping winds that often accompany warmer weather likely won’t matter much. A strong wind can place an enormous amount of force on a sheet of ice, especially if that sheet of ice is open or if it’s really jagged on the surface.
Those features allow the wind really “grab” the ice and move it. But the ice on Lake Winnebago this year is neither of those things.
So even with the wind, and even with the warm forecast, it seems like any concerns about the ice can be kept on ice.
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