MENASHA, Wis. (WFRV) – Two sturgeon spearers are lucky to be safe after both their trucks fell through the Lake Winnebago ice on Wednesday morning.
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Local 5 caught up with Bill Shommer and Lee Rasmussen, who had just returned to land after losing both their trucks to the ice only moments before.
They said they were heading out to meet up with friends and pull their shanties off the lake, but that the early fog made it impossible to see.
“The ice is good, but we were where we shouldn’t have been,” Shommer said.
They said that their GPS took them a different way, and that, combined with the fog, they got too close to the river channel on the northwest side of the lake.
“We should’ve gone around to the south side, and we went to the far west where the river washes out,” Rasmussen said.
Because they were so close to the canal, both of their pickup trucks fell into the lake.
“It’s a little hard to describe how it is when that truck is going down,” Rasmussen said. “He got his window down, I didn’t.” “I had to break [mine] to get out.”
Bystanders saw and quickly took the men back to shore. While both of their trucks are submerged in Lake Winnebago, they are happy that things didn’t turn for the worse.
“We both are okay, you can replace the truck, you can’t replace the people,” Shommer said.
With conditions changing, Jonathan Pyatskowit, a Fish Biologist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said activity on the lake has slowed down.
“With the conditions deteriorating and the landings getting rough and being midweek, we’re not seeing the activity we’ve seen over the weekend,” Pyatskowit said.
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Pyatskowit and the DNR recommend watching ice conditions before heading out on Lake Winnebago, which can be done through local fishing clubs or groups.
“No ice is ever completely safe,” Pyatskowit said. “So make sure you know where you’re going and what you’re doing out there.”
