Back on ice: Winter fishing returns in force to Lake Altoona

Sunday, January 15, 2017
Eric Lindquist | Leader-Telegram

After a year in ice fishing limbo due to a water drawdown, winter anglers are again dropping lines like crazy into a frigid Lake Altoona

ALTOONA - A temporary village of at least 50 ice shacks once again sits atop the more than foot-thick sheet of ice covering Lake Altoona.

It's a sure sign that, after a one-winter hiatus, the lake is back as one of the Chippewa Valley's most popular ice fishing destinations.

The state Department of Natural Resources closed the 720-acre lake to fishing last winter after it had to be drawn down 9 feet for extensive repairs to the dam that creates the lake from the Eau Claire River.

The drawdown eliminated about 70 percent of Lake Altoona's volume, so conservation officials feared ice fishing on the little remaining water could be like shooting fish in a barrel.

"We don't like to shut down a body of water, but the potential was definitely there for overharvesting, so we decided to close it to be safe," said Joseph Gerbyshak, DNR regional fisheries biologist.

For many area anglers, it was a classic case of enduring short-term pain for long-term gain.

Perhaps no one is happier to have the lake back to normal and open to fishing again than Dennis Steffen of Eau Claire. 

Steffen, 71, has been ice fishing Lake Altoona regularly for half a century and missed it greatly last winter. He took a few trips to Tainter Lake in Dunn County but ended up just fishing much less than usual. He's making up for lost time this winter.

"I fish every day," said Steffen, who keeps a furnace-heated ice fishing shack out in the middle of the lake for much of the winter. "I usually try to be on the lake by 7 or so in the morning and quit by noonish."

He likes the convenience of being able to drive onto the lake less than 10 minutes after leaving his home in the East Side Hill neighborhood. 

Steffen had just left the lake around noon Friday when he reported having caught an 18-inch smallmouth bass and a 4-inch perch that morning. He said the fishing was strong through December but since has gone through its usual January slowdown, although Steffen revealed that he caught three walleyes, including two 15-inchers, earlier in the week.

"They're all swimming now. I put 'em all back," he said. "I mostly go to kill time and have some fun."

Second home

Cory Deacon, 36, of Eau Claire hasn't been ice fishing on Lake Altoona for as long as Steffen but still missed the convenience of heading out on the neighborhood lake last winter. He said the lake is popular because of its proximity to the population base in Eau Claire, the variety of fish it holds and its reputation as one of the few area lakes on which anglers consistently can drive their vehicles.

"It affected a lot of people in the area because they had no other place to go. Some shacks just collected dust last winter," said Deacon, who expects to get out to his camper on Lake Altoona at least once a week this year, including frequent weekend visits with his daughter. He called the camper, which he uses as a place to hang out and warm up, his "home away from home."

Both Deacon and Steffen say they understood the need to close the lake during the drawdown. 

"Some fishermen thought it was the end of the world, but like I told them, it had to be done. That dam had to be repaired," Steffen said.

Greg Kotecki, who is heading up fish management efforts for the Lake Altoona Lake Association and trying to round up volunteers to install fish habitat, said he believes most anglers supported the decision to close the lake to fishing last winter.

"If you would have let people fish last winter, the fish would have been so condensed you would have caught fish left and right," Kotecki said. "It could have decimated the fish population."

As it is, Kotecki, who fishes the lake almost every day in summer but prefers to avoid the bigger crowds and slower fishing in winter, said he believes the fish population survived the drawdown in good shape, possibly even stronger than before as a result of a winter without being targeted for fish dinners. The lake is home to a variety of fish, including perch, smallmouth, walleyes, crappies, northerns and a few bluegills. 

"I had a really good summer and fall of fishing the lake, and many other people said they did too," he said.

That perception, for the most part, was borne out by DNR sampling done shortly after the ice went off the lake last spring.

The agency is expecting an uptick in the number of legal walleye in the lake this year as well as a healthy population of black crappies. Many of the crappies evaluated in sampling measured 10 to 12 inches long, which Gerbyshak called "a great size for the frying pan."

While surveys indicated a substantial decline in perch, Gerbyshak said he believes that was mostly the result of sampling error. The DNR will do more sampling this spring to assess the perch population.

Fishery survives

"Overall, it seems like the fishery survived the drawdown very well," Gerbyshak said, reminding residents that ice is never guaranteed to be safe and they should exercise caution when driving or venturing out on the frozen surface of any body of water.

Steffen said dredging that removed 214,000 cubic yards of sediment from the lake bottom last winter to take advantage of the low water level may have eliminated a lot of the weeds that some fish like to hide in, so some fishermen are finding fish haven't returned to their traditional spots yet.

"The fish are there yet," he said. "You can see them on the locators, but they've moved."

The absence of an ice fishing season on Lake Altoona, combined with a short season of safe ice last winter, had a significant negative impact on Buroker's Taxidermy, Bait & Tackle at 1721 Birch St., said owner Mike Buroker, who has operated the shop for 32 years,

"It was one of the worst winters I've ever had," Buroker said, adding that he understood the importance of repairing the deteriorating dam.

He heard from plenty of customers who were distressed by the closing of Lake Altoona to ice fishing as well.

"For a lot of people, it's a way to get through winter in Wisconsin without losing your mind," Buroker said.

Prized tradition

Absence indeed may make the heart grow fonder because anglers' comments suggest they appreciate access to Lake Altoona more than ever this year, said Josh Pedersen, Eau Claire County's parks and forest director.

"It's pretty amazing to see how many vehicles are out on the lake," Pedersen said. "There must have been 100 when I was out there last weekend. It's definitely a resource that a lot of people like to take advantage of in the winter."

Pedersen noted that the frozen lake also is a popular site for cross-country skiers, snowshoers, snowmobilers and, lately, even people riding fat-tire bikes.

The winter recreation enthusiasts are pursuing their activities on ice that is 14 to 15 inches thick, according to measurements Steffen took last week.

"I'm glad to be back on my good old lake this year," Steffen said.

Contact: 715-833-9209, eric.lindquist@ecpc.com, @ealscoop on Twitter

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