An annual ice fishing tournament on Vermont’s Lake Champlain has been forced to cancel after the deaths of three fisherman due to the lake’s historically thin ice this winter. The derby raises money for conservation on Lake Champlain, and the community looks forward to February for the ice fishing competition, but the organizers felt they had no choice in light of public safety concerns.
Gilbert Gagner, a member of the Islands Ice Fishing Derby committee, said in an interview with CNN that this was the tournament’s 43rd year and his 25th involved with it. “I’ve never seen anything like this,” Gagner said. “This is craziness.” While the fishermen who died were not affiliated with the tournament, Gagner said there was no choice but to shut it down.
Gagner owns Martin’s General Store, which rents out ice fishing equipment. But due to unusually high temperatures this winter, Gagner told CNN that not only is he not going back on the ice, but he is also shutting down the rental operation. Gagner said ice in areas of the lake that recently froze over can be misleading and look deceptively thick.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, the National Weather Service Burlington said ice thickness on area lakes and ponds is highly variable due to “well above normal temperatures” in the region over the past two months. This year, Montpelier recorded its warmest January since 1948, with Burlington recording its fifth warmest January since 1884, NWS Burlington said on Facebook.
In a Facebook comment on a February 6 video post, NWS Burlington said if it weren’t for the record-setting cold front and that hit the Northeast earlier this month, there would likely be little ice on Lake Champlain at all. “Most years this is about the time ice typically forms on the lake, though it can be quite variable. If it weren’t for the last week of temps there would likely be little ice, and the next 2 weeks is looking warm with several days of wind,” NWS Burlington said.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ice 6 inches thick or more can support snowmobiles or ATVs, but ice must be at least 9 inches thick to support cars and 12 inches to support medium sized trucks. Gagner states that there’s currently about 7 to 11 inches of ice, which is not good enough in certain areas of the lake to support trailers for the tournament.
CNN affiliate WCAX reported that Vermont Fish and Wildlife was advising the public to stay off Lake Champlain. “We really want to encourage people to not go out on the ice. Clearly it’s not safe. This is the second event we’ve had in two days. So ice safety is the most important thing,” commissioner Christopher Herrick told WCAX.
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