Warning spearers of thin ice

CALUMET COUNTY - As the silver pickup was pulled from Lake Winnebago, it served as a reminder for many that the most important tool may not be the spear used to catch that prized sturgeon, but rather communication

"You talk to people," said Tom Decker of Kellnersville. "People out here will pretty much tell you don't go here, don't go there."

"We've got an east-west crack this year," said Quinney Fishing Club director Marv Woelfel. "That's where the accident happened yesterday. We've got a bridge out there two miles out."

The Quinney Fishing Club works with the DNR to systematically mark the ice. A Christmas tree standing up marks a safe trail. But a tree on its side signals danger.

The crack that claimed two lives on Saturday is nearly 3/4 of a mile long and about 20 feet wide in parts but it is not marked, except by Mother Nature.

"You can see the shelf where it is lifted up," said Bob Burns of Francis Creek.

"It was there all season," Woelfel said. "You can't put a row of trees all the along the crack. Trees don't mean much to people not familiar anyway."

DNR officials say the best way to approach any kind of ice is knowing it is never 100 percent safe. As cracks shift and move with the weather, those who tread the icy terrain say there is only so much you can do.

"I think they're doing their job," said Decker. "It's just an unfortunate incident."

Calumet County Sheriff Jerry Pagel says the ice thickness on Lake Winnebago is good, but because of the cracks, he suggests people stay off the ice unless they are very familiar with the lake.