{"id":9761,"date":"2026-02-17T01:10:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:10:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/9761\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T01:10:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T01:10:10","slug":"walworth-county-man-measures-ice-thickness-of-geneva-lake-for-fishers-safety","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/9761\/","title":{"rendered":"Walworth County man measures ice thickness of Geneva Lake for fishers’ safety"},"content":{"rendered":"

GENEVA LAKE, Wis. \u2014 Is it reasonable to go ice fishing while the sun is shining at 60 degrees over Southeast Wisconsin? An experienced fishing guide brought out his tools to answer that question.<\/p>\n

\"geneva<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

Doug Ide measures ice thickness near the Williams Bay boat launch.<\/p>\n

Doug Ide of Guide Ide Fishing Service has conducted weekly tests of the ice levels on Geneva Lake for social media for several years.<\/p>\n

READ ALSO | Ice fishers describe Pewaukee Lake conditions after car breaks through ice<\/a><\/p>\n

“We’re getting the e-mails right now from the tourists who ask if it’s safe,” Ide said. “The residents here just say, ‘Oh yeah, we’re going.'”<\/p>\n

\"geneva<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

An ice fisher drags his equipment onto Geneva Lake from Riviera Beach.<\/p>\n

Ide took a measurement with TMJ4 off of the Williams Bay boat launch Monday afternoon. Despite the warm temperature, he still measured the ice at 12 inches deep just fifteen feet off of the shore.<\/p>\n

Watch: Walworth County man measures ice thickness of Geneva Lake for fishers’ safety<\/p>\n

Walworth County man measures ice thickness of Geneva Lake for fishers’ safety<\/p>\n

Ide uses an ice bar to check the ice on the surface, an auger to drill a hole, and a ruler to measure the level of the hole he is able to drill. He does not go near ice heaves, which he says are dangerous under any condition.<\/p>\n

\"geneva<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

Doug Ide measures ice on Geneva Lake on Williams Bay.<\/p>\n

“Usually, when the ice bar goes in the ice too far, you know you have to stop,” Ide said.<\/p>\n

Dozens of anglers felt confident enough to fish on Geneva Lake throughout the day on Monday. The sight confused the tourists who walked along the shore on Lake Geneva for a President’s Day getaway.<\/p>\n

\"lake<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

Lake Geneva visitors watch ice fishers from a bench on the shore.<\/p>\n

“We think it’s crazy the people are out there because you can clearly see the water streaming across the top,” said Karen Tarantino, who visited Lake Geneva from Mukwonago. “My friend keeps asking me how they’re going to get off.”<\/p>\n

While the lake is intact for now, Ide said any water from up above would mean the instant end of ice fishing season.<\/p>\n

\"geneva<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

An ice fishing hole drilled on Geneva Lake.<\/p>\n

“I don’t believe we’re going to be able to get on the lakes after the rain we’re supposed to get Wednesday,” Ide said.<\/p>\n

He hopes ice fishers take caution this week before they choose to pursue one last catch.<\/p>\n

\"lake<\/p>\n

TMJ4<\/p>\n

Ice fishers on Geneva Lake.<\/p>\n

“There’s no fish or no memory you’re going to have that would justify doing something unsafe for a fish,” Ide said.<\/p>\n

Let’s talk:<\/p>\n

Hey there! At TMJ4 News, we’re all about listening to our audience and tackling the stuff that really matters to you. Got a story idea, tip, or just want to chat about this piece? Hit us up using the form below. For more ways to get in touch, head over to tmj4.com\/tips. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24\/7 by searching for \u201cTMJ4\u201d on your device.<\/p>\n

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Report a typo or error<\/a> \/\/ Submit a news tip<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"GENEVA LAKE, Wis. \u2014 Is it reasonable to go ice fishing while the sun is shining at 60…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":9762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[7621,65,4672,7622,7623,876],"class_list":{"0":"post-9761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-geneva","8":"tag-fishing","9":"tag-geneva","10":"tag-ice","11":"tag-ice-fishing","12":"tag-warm-weather","13":"tag-weather"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ch\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}