When Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin froze over a few days after New Year’s Eve, it marked the beginning of “ice season,” a time of year when (once the ice gets thick enough, of course) the iconic bodies of water in this lake-rich city suddenly become host to a variety of outdoor pursuits. Winter is …
In case you missed the news, Lake Mendota was officially deemed “frozen” by the Wisconsin State Climatology Office on Sunday. That January 3rd “ice on” date is about two weeks later than the median freeze date of December 20th, although it’s a far cry from the record late-freeze date of January 30th in 1932. This …
The “ice off” pool has officially opened here at the Center for Limnology, which means we’re all waiting to see when Lake Mendota will thaw this spring. (The forecast indicates it won’t be this week, at least!) While we still have some time left for ice fishing, skating and all of those other frozen-lake pursuits, …
MADISON – In many parts of the Northern Hemisphere, frozen lakes define the winter experience and create an indelible sense of place. From ice fishing and hockey to skating, skiing and snowmobiling, icy lakes enable communities to engage in activities that aren’t possible in warmer seasons or climates. But these iconic cold-weather past-times could become …
by Mason Muerhoff, @UWMadScience It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. The vicious cold has transformed the scattered blue lakes of the North Woods into white disks — barren wastelands of ice. The harsh winds rushing across the icy plains combined with average air temperatures that are just above freezing seem to offer a less-than-hospitable …
Each winter people ask us what, exactly, is everything doing down under that ice? As those ice fishing shanties dotting the frozen surface of our lakes attest, fish are still active. So how, exactly, do fish get through winter? Brandon Peoples, one of our friends over at The Fisheries Blog recently answered the question of …
Welcome back to our blog! We’ve got big plans in store for 2018, but first wanted to touch base on something that happened way back in 2017 – December 27th, to be exact. If you were in the Madison area and ventured out along the shoreline of our beautiful lakes, you would’ve seen that Lake …
NOTE: This post originally ran on January 17, 2012. In the four of the five years since this post, Lake Mendota has frozen over well after its “median” freeze date, and in three of the five years it has thawed much earlier. A few days before Christmas, I was headed down John Nolen Drive on …
We’re taking a look back at some of the CFL’s most popular blog posts from 2016. Here’s one originally published on back in 2015 about what life is like under the ice – considering Lake Mendota still hasn’t frozen, maybe this one will be better in 2017? Happy New Year! [Originally posted Jan. 30, 2015] …
Andrew Stevens is a graduate student working on a master’s degree both with Pete McIntyre in Freshwater and Marine Sciences as well as the Water Resources Management Program here at UW-Madison. He’s also an avid ice angler and handy with a camera. We asked for a Fish Fry Day special – and Andy delivered. Enjoy! …