Lake Winnebago's 'ice whisperer' talks ice conditions leading up to spearfishing season
OSHKOSH - The Lake Winnebago ice whisperer has some good news and some bad news for people looking forward to sturgeon spearing season and other winter events on the lake.
First, the good news: While one can never know for sure, it's likely that there will be enough ice on Winnebago to allow sturgeon spearfishers to get out on the lake and try their hand at bagging the underwater monsters. The bad news: It does not look like there will be a foot or more of ice covering Wisconsin's largest inland lake, so it's unlikely the roads bisecting the lake during colder winters will be plowed.
If you are a spearfisher or have been part of Lake Winnebago's winter community, you probably know who the ice whisperer is. He's Don Herman, the owner of Sunk? Dive and Ice Service, which recovers all kinds of vehicles that sink in Lake Winnebago and other lakes within a few hours of Oshkosh. The 66-year-old also been plowing the ice roads for the spearfishing season since he was 16 years old.
"I've seen many different conditions. I've seen open water on Lake Winnebago during sturgeon spearing, and there was 15 inches of ice all around it," Herman said. "Geese were keeping it open, so we tried to keep them away. We've done a lot of stupid stuff."
With spearfishing season set to open in less than a month on Feb. 10, interest and online chatter is building about what the ice conditions could be. Herman (and other sources) answered our questions about ice conditions on Lake Winnebago.
Has the sturgeon spearfishing season ever been canceled because of lack of ice?
Not in Herman's memory. There always has been ice enough for people to feel comfortable venturing out onto the ice, particularly in shallow bays or sheltered areas of the lake. The question really is whether Herman and other volunteers with the various sport and fishing clubs will be able to plow roads across the ice. In cold-enough years, those roads allow people to drive across the lake, using cut pine trees as guides. They allow spearfishers to set up their fishing shacks in the areas of the lake they believe will bring them the most luck. Spearfishers can also use pickups and other vehicles to bring their shelters and equipment out to the lake.
Some people also use the ice roads to commute to work, saving them time, Herman said.
Herman can remember only three times that the ice roads were not plowed because of thin ice conditions. Last year was the latest.
How thick does the ice need to be to plow the ice roads?
The ice needs to be at least a foot thick, Herman said, to be able to support the heavy-duty plow trucks. And even then the conditions can be tricky and dangerous. For example, even an ice surface a foot deep shifts and cracks naturally. The fishing clubs use temporary steel bridges to allow cars and other vehicles to cross those cracks.
In an average year, Herman said the bridges get placed sometime in mid-January, usually between Jan. 10 and Jan. 25. The earliest he recalled putting the bridges in was Dec. 27. There's no cutoff date. If conditions allow, the fishing clubs will place the bridges even in the middle of the spearfishing season, Herman said. The season typically lasts for 16 days, unless spearfishers harvest enough gender-specific caps set by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.
What are the best conditions for Lake Winnebago to make surface ice?
Cold, cold and more cold weather, of course. Herman said in 24-hours of calm, sub-zero weather, an inch to an inch-and-a-half of ice can form. The lake quickly produces ice, in part because it's relatively shallow. Its surface area is roughly 138,000 acres, and it has an average depth of 15.5 feet. It's 21 feet deep at its deepest. Being a relatively shallow lake makes it easier for it to produce ice, Herman said, but there are many other factors at play.
One of the most significant non-temperature forces to affect lake ice is wind. If it's windy, the surface of the lake gets roiled up and prevents ice from forming quickly.
Another factor is snowfall. Snow can act as a blanket for a thin ice surface, and ice making is slowed.
RELATED: As Wisconsin's climate gets warmer and wetter, beloved winter activities could be in jeopardy
What does Lake Winnebago weather look like in the coming days?
Forecasters are calling for a solid winter storm to roll through the area, ending on Saturday. As of Thursday, this front was expected to dump from 6 to 9 inches of snow on the region, and winds were predicted to gust up to 45 mph. Not superb ice-making conditions.
After that, temperatures are expect to plunge, with highs in the single digits and overnight lows below zero. That deep freeze could give the ice on the lake a boost, Herman said.
How does all this bode for the Bike Across Bago annual event?
It's not good. Bike Across Bago is an informal cycling get-together by local winter cycling enthusiasts. It's held the week before spearfishing opens, this year on Feb. 3. The group takes advantage of the roads typically plowed by the Paynes Point Hook & Spear Club to ride across the lake and back, a total of 18 to 20 miles. Organizers say there will be a "penalty ride" of 40 or so miles on roads. Last year the event wasn't held, but some riders took their chances and rode without the road, which is a decidedly more risky endeavor.
Keith Uhlig is a regional features reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based in Wausau. Contact him at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Lake Winnebago needs a foot of ice for sturgeon spearfishing roads
