OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As dates on the calendar approach the third week of January, ice continues to form on places like Lake Winnebago.
Experts say there are about six to eight inches of ice covering the frozen body of water.
On the banks of the lake in Oshkosh, Perry Harrer checked the conditions Monday morning. He says he’s ready for some ice fishing.
“Walleyes. But anything you know. You get the crappies, the white bass, whatever. A fish is a fish. And I haven’t been out this year yet, but I retired now, so I king of want to get out there.”
Ice experts say conditions vary across the 132,000 acre lake, but by many accounts, the season is off to a slow start.
SUNK? Dive and Ice Service Owner Don Herman tells FOX 11 the big part of the lake is frozen over, and ice near Merritt Avenue in Oshkosh is about six to eight inches thick.
“You can go out with a four-wheeler, side-by-side. But you can’t take a side-by-side out and put five guys in it, and all that equipment. It’s like a small car. You got to be careful. There’s a crack out about a half a mile on Lake Winnebago, and another one about a mile.”
Herman says the Otter Street Fishing Club hopes to install a bridge this weekend, so four-wheelers can safely cross over those cracks. In the meantime, he says there’s no substitute for freezing temperatures.
“It’s got a good base right now, if we could get some cold weather right now, Lake Winnebago would be really great. But we need some below zero weather.”
Until then, Perry Harrer says he will stay on shore.
“I’ve been itching for quite a while now. But the conditions on the ice are kind of iffy. So better be safe than sorry.”
Herman says he plans to observe the conditions first hand during a fly-over of Lake Winnebago this week.
He wants remind people no ice is ever considered to be 100% safe.
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