OSHKOSH, WI -- All this mid-December rain looks particularly bleak over Lake Winnebago, where typically by this time ice fishing shanties dot the frozen landscape.
But wide open water has put this winter season to a halt, as the businesses that depend on it are starting to feel the pressure.
A UW-extension study shows angling on the Lake Winnie system nets $234 million a year for the region's economy.
But a decent chunk of that is a result of ice fishing, and with sturgeon spearing just two months away, concerns about no ice cover are growing.
"Here we are, December 13th," says Lake Winnebago resident Scott Engel, "and it looks like we're here in October."
Two years ago, Engel says augers needed extensions to penetrate three feet of ice on the lake--his backyard--by this time.
"We look forward to getting ice out here," says Engel. "This is Wisconsin."
But even with open water right now, Engel says it's not likely fishermen will be putting in their boats to take advantage of it.
"Most people have got their boats tucked away for the winter, and winterized," says Engel.
Engel is president of the Otter Street Fishing Club, in Oshkosh.
He also runs a bar--Jerry's Bar--tthat knows the importance of ice fishermen, and snowmobilers.
"It does become a huge part of my business," says Engel, "and as we get into February it's absolutely huge, with sturgeon spearing."
"People don't realize," says Lake Winnie "ice expert" Don Herman, "sometimes, during sturgeon spearing, there's 25,000 vehicles on the lake."
Herman, also a board member for Otter Street Fishing Club, and tavern owner, also understands the need for a year of solid ice.
"People are usually ice fishing, walking out," says Herman, adding that's particularly true in an average year further north, "it's a couple weeks behind, and the forecast looks pretty warm," he laughs, "so it's going to depend."
Herman also owns a business that pulls vehicles from Lake Winnie if they break through the ice--a job that can net anywhere from $500 to $5,000 dollars a car.
"Normally I might have pulled something out already," says Herman, "but it's been pretty slow."
In his 40 years of monitoring ice conditions on Lake Winnie, Herman says there have been only three where they haven't been able to put out the ice bridges for cars to get on the frozen lake.
"Actually, within the last 15 years have been the three years," says Herman.
It's a trend that is already affecting the way Wisconsin makes money in the winter months.
Still, both Herman and Engel say they're not worried about this year's ice cover.
If temps stay below zero for at least 24 hours, with little to no wind, Herman says Lake Winnebago could form up two two inches in that time period alone.
