Whether you are ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing or just playing around on the lakes the most important thing to remember is ice is never one hundred percent safe. When it comes time to heading out on frozen lakes around Northeast Wisconsin there are a few things to take into consideration to make sure your trip is safe and dry!
1. Know your area and surrounding area.
Area lakes such as Lake Winnebago and Lake Poygan have many rivers and streams that flow in and out of the lakes causing unsafe ice even in the extreme cold. Knowing where these rivers, streams or springs are located is extremely important to help avoid these unsafe areas.
2. Talk to locals or check with area bait shops.
If you’re visiting an area or just not very familiar with a lake and how the ice conditions are, stop in at any of the local bait shops, taverns or gas stations. You will be able to talk to people that are either heading out or coming off the lakes to determine where and how they are traveling and if there are any spots to avoid.
3. Understand how much ice is needed for they type of activity you are doing.
· 2-4” - suitable for one person walking
· 5-6” – suitable for a single snowmobile or atv up to 800 lbs.
· 8-12” – suitable for a small car or large group of people up to 2000 lbs.
· 12”+ - suitable for a light pickup truck or van
4. Observe the ice and know what the color of the ice means.
· Light gray to dark black - Melting ice, occurs even if air temperature is below 32°F. Not safe, its weak density can’t hold a load, stay off.
· White to Opaque - Water-saturated snow freezes on top of ice forming another thin ice layer. Most times it’s weak due to being porous from air pockets.
· Blue to Clear - High density, very strong, safest ice to be on if thick enough, stay off if less than 2 inches thick.
· Mottled and slushy or "rotten" ice - not so much its color but its texture. This ice is thawing and slushy. It is deceptive - it may seem thick at the top but it is rotting away at the center and base. Most prevalent in spring, may be showing signs of browns from plant tannins, dirt and other natural materials that are resurfacing from thawing. Not suitable for even a footstep.
5. Be prepared when venturing onto the ice.
There are many precautionary things you can do to be prepared for a break through. When walking onto the lake during early ice it is a good idea to wear some sort of floatation. Life jackets or floatation suits are a good choice. Along with flotation you should have some sort of ice picks to pull yourself back onto the ice if you were to fall in. Walk out with a spud bar hitting the ice in front of every step you take. This will allow you to gauge the thickness of the ice. While on an atv or snowmobile, some sort of flotation is always good to have. Carry a rope with you along with some ice picks. Always be aware of your friends you may be riding with making sure no one runs into trouble. When in a vehicle, it is important to have some sort of tool like an emergency ax or hammer close to you if you were to need to break a window to escape. Never venture out on the lake with your seatbelts on and make sure the doors are unlocked. Even though it’s cold outside, I always recommend rolling down the windows.
Taking these 5 points into consideration when traveling onto any frozen body of water will greatly reduce the chance of falling through. Carry a cell phone in a waterproof bag and always let someone know where you are and try to travel with a friend whenever you can. Wisconsin winters can be long and cold but that does not mean there aren’t plenty of activities that can be enjoyed in the wintery wonderland of the Great White North!