Lake Altoona anglers remove ice shacks
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 Kaitlyn Riley | WQOW
Altoona (WQOW) - Anglers on Lake Altoona removed ice fishing shacks following Wednesday's thaw.
The Wisconsin DNR said there is about 16 inches of ice on Lake Altoona, but the first layer is getting sloppy. The DNR said shacks left on the lake during these warm periods could get stuck if the slush re-freezes, and of course, there is concern for thin ice with no guarantee of another cold spell. Anglers said they would rather be safe than sorry, and they can always bring shacks back if the weather cools down again. A large pool of water has already formed at the bottom of the boat landing. The DNR said that could eventually prevent people from reaching the lake.
"One of the main concerns is the access to the lake, the boat landings," Wisconsin DNR Conservation Warden Scott Thiede said. "That tends to deteriorate quite quickly. With the steep ramps at the boat landing and the water running off from the parking lots, the water forms at the base of the ramps, and that creates some very thin ice."
Thiede said as a whole, local lakes that usually have a lot of vehicle traffic are empty this year because of the warmer winter. The DNR said the safety of ice is never guaranteed and is determined by weather conditions, not the calendar. Read more about this article »
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