Today I hit Lake Winnebago for the first time this winter.

It's difficult to recall a year in which the lake (which we locals refer to as "The Dead Sea") hadn't frozen by January, though I guess that's because I like to drink whiskey and Milwaukee Best.  I guess if I concentrate I can remember 1998, but thinking is such work.

This year I used my fantasy football winnings (I'm Number One!) to buy a used two-seater flipover so lil' botnet can join when I hit the ice.  Here's what it looks like.  Flipovers make good sense for people like me who like to hit the ice early (and late) in the season.  The light weight is good for thin or poor ice, and their portability alleviates the worry of some asshole stealing your gear out of a permanent shack.  I'm pretty excited.

The bay I fished today had about 4 to 5 inches of ice, which is actually pretty good considering the lake is open for miles and miles just beyond the breakwater (100 yards from where I fished).  In a typical year, we have sufficient ice to enable those inclined to drive a vehicle from Oshkosh to Stockbridge over the lake, but this year you'd need Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.   

If you look closely in the holes (click to embiggen) , you can see what I estimate to be about 5 inches of ice.  I'd not drive a four-wheeler on this, let alone a vehicle, though some do.  I'm not that crazy, and I love my family.  Please bear in mind that about 100 yards from here is open water.  Today was cold and windy, and it can be a bit spooky as the ice moans and cracks due to temperature and wind force.  Good times.

Sure, the ice is confined to the bays and is still thin, but we've hit a patch of cold weather and it's "makin' ice".  There are a lot of people who want to get out on the main part of the lake, and if the cold continues we'll have good ice in a week or so.  Or else Global Warmingâ„¢ has finally kicked in and I should have bought a boat instead of an ice shack.

The wifey made me promise not to bring lil' botnet out this weekend because of the fear of poor ice, and I was probably more disappointed than the lil' one since we upgraded our fishin' shack just this past week.  I'm looking forward to next weekend and hoping that our recent cold spell continues.  I've got the hard-water itch, friends.  I hope the winter lasts a long time.

And as for the fish?  Saw a ton of uninterested white bass on the camera, and had a nice perch spit out my hook.  I never catch shit, but thankfully the time you spend fishing doesn't count against your age.

Posted by: the botnet at 09:24 PM | Comments (8) | Add Comment
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