I have never in my 13 years of guiding seen such poor ice conditions on Green Bay. Heading into winter it looked very optimistic for an earlier than usual start to our guide season. This idea quickly faded as we had a record warm January for our area. There was virtually no ice made the entire month of January. Fast forward to the end of January where we did receive some cold air. This was unfortunately not enough and to late for what we needed going into February. The area did not get cold long enough. We tried to stay optimistic going into February in hopes we would get the cold we needed.

The past week myself and a network of guides have exhausted every possible resource to checking the ice pack on Green Bay. We walked numerous miles on the ice every day, drilled hundreds of holes, marked roads, and created back up plans to evolving conditions. Myself and another guide chartered a airplane twice in the last week to physically see the condition of the ice on the bay. This proved to be invaluable information to help us predict and foresee what happened today. The strong southerly winds today in combination with the vast amount of open water allowed the ice to peel away from the eastern side of the bay where we are located. Leading up to this we could see the signs and triggers for this to happen.

The ice pack is beyond repair at this point to access our off shore whitefish locations given the current conditions and forecast for the next two weeks.

This is a really tough decision, but a calculated one. There are many things that go on behind the scenes leading up taking people out on the ice. The amount of time, effort and handwork are all done to ensure safety for everyone out there. It has to be this way, and it will always be that way. Safety is always first.

This is one of my most favorite times of the year, and I really am going to miss it. Over the past years I have made so many lasting relationships with all my customers and I consider most of them friends. I thank all of you for taking a chance on that “kid” 13 years ago and booking a ice fishing trip, your what keep me and my team going! We look forward to getting out deep next year, lots of whitefish lives will be spared this year!

Captain JJ Malvitz
JJs Guide Service