DOOR COUNTY (NBC 26) — While winter sports like snowmobiling haven’t been able to get off the ground this season, ice fishing is a different story.
Local ice fishing guides say with the really cold temperatures and lack of snow, it’s shaping up to be some of the best ice fishing in years.
“I would say ice this good has been probably over five or six years," Travis Stangle of Brown Dog Guide Service said.
Stangle has been guiding anglers on the ice for the past ten years.
“We have 14 to 18 inches of ice out on the reef where everyone comes to fish whitefish here in Door County," Stangle said. "It’s been many years since we’ve had that great of ice."
He adds the ice should hold as long as temperatures don’t rise too much.
Paul Delaney, owner of Late-Eyes Sport Fishing Guide Service, adds that snow can slow ice formation, so the cold, snow-free weather has actually been a help this season.
“That can be very detrimental to thin ice. So we get a little bit of ice and we get a big snowfall on it that really insulates the snow. It prevents it from thickening up. It gets slushy," Delaney said.
Delaney adds ice fishing in the area typically wraps up by mid-March, but this year, he expects the season could last until the end of March.
Both charters stress that safety comes first. Anglers should check wind direction, never go out alone, and always let someone know where they are headed.
