OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – Hopes are high heading into the second weekend of January, as experts say the ice season on Lake Winnebago is off to a good start.
It’s been more than a year since the freshly-painted bridges have been on the Lake Winnebago ice. On Thursday, members of the Otter Street Fishing Club installed two spans over cracks in the ice off the Merritt Avenue landing in Oshkosh.
“Four-wheeler bridges are pretty easy. The car bridges are a little more involved. We get some more people down here and get those together and get them out,” said Bob Hable, vice president of the Otter Street Fishing Club.
Hable says the thicker the ice, the better.
“We’re looking at 8-10 inches of ice for ATVs and UTVs. And that’s a safe number that we look at. We look at 12-14 for the car bridges,” he said.
“We went all the way across the lake, checked all the ice. The least we found was eight inches. The ice is the best I’ve seen in about 10 years. It’s smooth. There’s hardly any rough ice. Quite a few cracks, but you got to pay attention when you’re going out there,” said Don Herman, a local ice expert with Sunk? Dive and Ice Service.
Herman says the conditions are already much better than last season.
“It’s really good ice. It’s nice, good, black ice. It’s amazing one year from another year,” he said.
Herman says that ties in with a busy winter season in the Oshkosh area.
“We have Otter Street coming up first week of February. Then we have sturgeon spearing start, and then the Battle on Bago. We have the Polar Plunge. So there’s a lot of activities coming up in the next few weeks,” he said.
Hable says installing these ATV bridges is a good, safe first step.
“As long as we don’t get one of these mid-January thaws — and right now, it doesn’t look like it — we’re pretty optimistic that we’re going to be able to have these events and get people down here and get them out on the lake fishing,” he said.
People are encouraged to check with area bait shops before heading out. Experts remind everyone the ice is never 100% safe.
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