Ice fishing obsession faces peril in changing Wisconsin climate - The Capital Times

Ice fishing obsession faces peril in changing Wisconsin climate | News | captimes.com

Madison is defined by its lakes, and in the winter when the water freezes over, those lakes become spotted with hundreds of people ice fishing.

Most of them will tell you the best part of the winter activity is the community — "like a secret society," one angler told the Cap Times — and the escape from being cooped up indoors. But lately that escape hasn't lasted long.

Year by year, local lakes are freezing later into the winter and starting to thaw earlier, according to data from the Wisconsin State Climatology Office. This year’s season has been particularly short, with Madison lakes not freezing over until Jan. 15 — the latest date since 2005 — and pockets of ice melting as early as mid-February.

Scientists warn that climate change will continue to cut into the sport. And although many people who enjoy ice fishing still doubt that the Earth's warming trend is real, many others worry that a thriving community and economy tied to ice fishing is gradually melting away.

Even more urgently, the weather conditions are creating more dangerous conditions than ever.

Dustin Hermanson is a firefighter and emergency medical technician with the Madison Fire Department and part of the Lake Rescue team. He’s also an avid ice fisherman, and he said this season has been more unpredictable than any he’s seen before.

Ice on Lake Waubesa in McFarland was already unsuitable for ice fishing by Feb. 16.

“That cold snap in January froze everything. It started out really good,” Hermanson said. “Now, it’s a big wild card. There are guys out there ice fishing saying, ‘Hey, it’s bad,’ and there are still people out there.”

“It puts an awareness in all of us. We’re always ready but we’ve been saying, ‘Something's going to happen today.’ And it did today.”

Falling through the ice

This past week, the Madison Fire Department responded to four separate incidents of people falling through waning ice on lakes in the area.

Three people fell through the ice Friday morning alone.

And those are just the incidents reported to the Madison Fire Department.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources never advises that any ice is safe to traverse. But this year especially, the state has ramped up its ice safety messaging, said Lt. Jacob Holsclaw with the DNR.

“Because of the strange and unseasonable winter that we’ve had … the ice has been very unpredictable this year,” Holsclaw, who works in off-highway vehicle management and ice safety, said. “It’s been so crazy. It’s just been so warm.”

Even in northern parts of Wisconsin that are typically colder and safer, water is opening up on lakes, creating more unstable conditions. Regular ice fishermen contend that you can still find safe spots if you know where to look, but Holsclaw said looks can be deceiving.

“This can be an especially dangerous time of year because you've got warmer day temps and then it might be getting colder at night, just enough to freeze a little bit, but you could potentially be losing more ice than you’re gaining,” he said. “Ice is going to continue to deteriorate. And that’s what scares me.”

A sign at Monona Bay in Madison warns about potential health risks from eating fish. The Department of Natural Resources also warns about the risks of going out on frozen lakes, no matter how cold it is outside.

Holsclaw and Hermanson with the Fire Department advised that anyone thinking about setting out on frozen lakes use common sense and offered some practical tips:

- Check conditions locally before you set out to see if the ice is safe.
- Don't go alone. Bring along friends or family, and make sure others know where you are and when you are expected to return.
- Bring safety gear, such as ice claws or picks, a floatation device and rope. Take a cell phone with you in a waterproof bag or container.
- Dress warmly in waterproof layers, and bring extra socks and clothes if you can.
- Don't travel in areas you are not familiar with, and don't travel out onto the ice at night.
- Avoid inlets, outlets or narrows that may have current that can thin the ice.
- Look for clear ice, which is generally stronger than ice with snow on it or that has bubbles.

At least one person has died in Wisconsin this winter from falling through the ice. According to a DNR report on Feb. 9, a 76-year-old man was returning from ice fishing on a lake in northern Wisconsin's Price County when his UTV broke through and he was unable to get free from the water "due to poor ice conditions."

“If you go through the ice, it's gonna be probably the coldest thing you’ve ever felt,” Holsclaw said. “Try to calm yourself down, calm your breathing down. Try to turn around and get out of the ice the way that you went in. Then of course get warmed up as quickly as you can because hypothermia can happen within minutes.”

The DNR has more safety tips on its website on what to do if someone falls through the ice.

For some, it’s still worth the risk. In Madison, anglers were spotted on pockets of ice in 50-degree weather and warmer in late February.

Hermanson called it “a stupid risk.”

“When someone goes and does something not smart, it puts all my buddies, my big family here (at the Madison Fire Department), in danger too. No we’re coming for you, and that’s our job, we understand that,” Hermanson said. “But be safe in the first place. Keep everybody safe. Don’t go out if you’re not 100% sure.”

“There are other recreational activities to do. Go take a walk in the woods,” he said.

Why ice fishing is so attractive

For Matthew Crawford, there’s nothing else like ice fishing, though, and he travels all over the state looking for ice.

This year he has had to search a bit harder than in the past.

Ice fishermen say the sport helps to get them outdoors when they would otherwise be cooped up in the winter.

“You do have to be willing to go where the ice is, but even up in the northern parts of the state, a lot of businesses have just been suffering because it just still hasn't been cold enough,” Crawford, a student at UW-La Crosse, said. “I'm already done ice fishing in La Crosse and I have been for a few weeks now. It was to a point where I had to jump from the shore over like a 2-foot gap of open water to get onto the ice.

“Is that really smart? Maybe not. But I love fishing and I'm obsessed with it, so I did it,” he added.

Matt Hamilton lives in Medford and was out ice fishing an hour north of the city on Friday. He is still having luck making some big catches, he said.

“This year’s been excellent ice fishing,” he said, “just better than normal.”

Hamilton, 49, has been ice fishing since he was 5 years old, when his dad taught him. He taught his kids how to ice fish. Now, it’s a family activity.

It’s a common tale in Wisconsin and not dissimilar to Patrick Hasburgh’s own story. Hasburgh bought and runs Madison’s D&S Bait Tackle & Fly Shop.

To him, ice fishing seems more like a tradition than a hobby at this point.

“I'll be honest, ice fishing isn't my favorite way to fish. It's something that gets me outside in the wintertime. It connects you with nature,” Hasburgh said. “There's just something cool about being able to walk on water, in areas where you normally wouldn't be able.”

Olaf Jensen, an associate professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Limnology, studies fish, fishing and fishery management. He said what’s more exciting to him is what lies under the surface.

“It's a glimpse into that mystery of life under the ice when you go ice fishing,” Jensen said. “You realize that life goes on under the ice. Lakes don't just go to sleep for the winter and wake up again when the ice comes off.”

Some, like Crawford, believe fish taste better in the wintertime. Others do it for exercise. All are connected by this shared interest and the result is a community of people of all ages and backgrounds.

“It’s almost like a secret society. It’s a club. If you're out there on the ice and somebody else's on the ice, you're both out there and you're doing it. It’s really a beautiful thing,” Hasburgh said. “It's just such a menagerie of characters and knowledgeable, friendly people. There are of course politics and a lot of things that divide people in society. Fishing is something that everybody can agree on.”

Not only is Crawford “obsessed” with ice fishing, but he’s hoping to teach others how to get more involved through his Instagram, where he shares his catches, what he’s learned and advice. His biggest critique of people passionate about ice fishing is that they are reluctant to share information and that can deter newcomers from trying it out.

Crawford wants to change that — and the future of the sport and the economy around it could depend on it.

The post of a thin ice sign is half buried in snow at Tenney Park in Madison after a January storm.

“When you look at the graph over the last few years, temperatures are getting warmer and warmer and warmer. It’s worrisome,” Crawford said. “It's closing businesses, like bait and tackle shops, bars, restaurants, especially the ones up north where people only go for a week of fishing. I'm interested to see if we can do anything about it or not. I’m really not sure if we can.

“I wouldn't be shocked if the sport slowly began to die in the southern parts of the state — and really all the other states in the Midwest too.”

Climate change and the unexpected

That thought weighs heavily on Hasburgh. Concerns about ice fishing’s longevity in a warming climate keep him up at night.

But some ice fishermen are skeptical of the science, despite the wide acceptance among researchers and vast evidence that the planet is warming at a dangerous pace.

Hamilton said Friday the ice was about 4 inches thick in his fishing spot and not as solid as he had hoped. He also said that the weather changes quickly.

“It's been a warmer winter overall but I've seen them short before. They talk about global warming stuff and then it's 30 below here for … weeks,” Hamilton said. “It just depends on the winter. This is just an odd year. It's just a cycle. I’m not worried about it.”

Craig Szopinski ice fishes on Lake Monona in Madison in this photo from 2021.

Despite January’s cold snap that kept the area at or below zero for a week, Wisconsin saw a much warmer January than usual, around 8.5 degrees warmer than average, according to the National Weather Service.

When an article stating that fact was posted in the Wisconsin ice fishing group on Facebook, which has over 35,000 members, the group’s administrator had to disable comments, although some are still available to be viewed.

They range from: “Climate has changed since the creation,” to “My heating bill approves.” After a Cap Times reporter inquired in the group for interviews about the warmer temperatures, one member replied, “Maybe a search of dinosaurs in Wisconsin or the last ice age will give you some good material.”

Jensen, with UW’s Center for Limnology, said the facts are indisputable, though, and that 2023 marked the third latest freeze date for Madison lakes. The year 2024 could tie the record for the earliest thaw, although that data isn’t yet available.

He echoed comments from people who frequently icefish that the conditions are “really unusual,” but said climate change’s role in it all is still being determined.

“This is part of a general trend that we're seeing, not just in Wisconsin or even just in the U.S., but around the world — shorter, shorter ice duration,” Jensen said. “We're still trying to figure out the answers because things are changing so rapidly.”

The changing ice, freeze and thaw dates could have a big impact on fish, too, he said.

“We're really just starting to scratch the surface understanding that,” Jensen added. “The only rule for climate change is to expect the unexpected.”

It also means avid ice fishermen have to change their habits. Recent, local knowledge of ice conditions is critical, Jensen said.

“Now, you can't rely on a certain time of year being safe for ice,” he said. “That might have been a good rule to follow in the past. It's not a good rule to follow in the future.”

Warmer winter has a business cost

The repercussions of the melting lakes are not just hurting people physically. For Hasburgh, ice fishing-related sales make up about a third of annual profits, he said.

“The last two winters have been pretty rough. Last winter was not as bad as this winter,” Hasburgh told the Cap Times. “The community is very supportive and they understand that little shops like this matter.”

Hasburgh said he knew the risks when he bought D&S Bait, Tackle & Fly in 2022, and that he was “not going to get rich selling people worms.”

“But it’s a rewarding job and I’m happy to do it,” he contended. “(The shop) is an important part of the fishing community. It's a hub and what we offer in a small shop like this is local knowledge, more locally produced products.”

He tries to remain optimistic for the future. But It can feel like an uphill climb.

“Every winter gets shorter and shorter,” Hasburgh said. “I'm here to cater to folks that want to get out fishing and hopefully we can keep the business open for many more years. If we don't have the winters to get us through, it's going to be tough."