Anglers Wary About Thin Ice Because Of Warm Spell

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources website is suggesting ice fishermen get their shacks off the ice soon because of the rising temperatures.

In Wausau, many of the anglers are already heeding the advice.

By Monday morning, the trucks and shanties had all been removed voluntarily on usually crowded Lake Wausau by the McCleary Bridge.

Jim Lemmer, of Athens, was one of just a few fishermen on the ice, trying his luck while sitting outside on a plastic pail.

“With the current, there could be some soft spots,” Lemmer said. “I mean, the ice is good and solid, but there could be some soft spots this time of year. Like right over here, just the other side of the road, two trucks went in there last week. And once you put that truck in there, it’s done.”

Nearby, Keith McElhaney pulled a perch out of the hole he drilled in the ice, which he estimated at 2 feet thick. He, too, was sitting on a pail.

“It’s better than sitting at home watching that TV,” McElhaney said.

McElhaney has an ice shack, but he took it off the lake because of the warmer weather, which has caused the ice to get dangerously thin in some spots.

McElhaney had some advice for those thinking of driving a truck on the lake.

“Don’t do it,” McElhaney said. “Walk out, and drill some holes and enjoy the day. It’s good exercise.”

The DNR doesn’t require the removal of ice shanties south of Highway 64 until March 5, and north of Highway 64 until March 19.