Winter 2025-26
1 December 2025: Pickerel Lake frozen over and covered in snow
Issue 45
From your Association President
Drew Zelle | dmzelle48@gmail.com | 920-209-0564
Greetings, it’s winter and Smoke Lake has been frozen over since November 18. About 3” of snow fell over the weekend, and temperatures are forecasted to be below freezing for the next 7-10 days. Winter is off to a good start! Having a nice normal (cold and snowy) winter would be good for the lakes and us.
The PCLA has had an active year, with the Picnic, Clean Boats Clean Waters efforts and Water Quality Monitoring. I thank you all for your time, donations, and talents that make this organization what it is. Volunteerism for the good of the lakes helps everybody enjoy what we have. I am looking forward to working with you all in the coming year.
We will be running our three aeration systems this winter as usual. Once the ice is thick enough, we will fence out the open water areas and turn the systems on. We will need volunteers for the fencing installation so look for an email or post on Facebook when we plan to layout the fence.
You will be receiving the Open Water Warning Letter in a separate email or by mail soon. Please share the contents of this letter with your visitors so they can be safe on the ice this year.
Also, we will continue to monitor the health of lakes through monthly water quality monitoring and reporting it to the WDNR. We measure dissolved oxygen and temperature at several locations on the lakes and submit that information to the WDNR. All of our lake monitoring data are available online through the program: Pickerel Lake, Smoke Lake, Little Pickerel Lake.
Our lakes are healthy and for the most part AIS free. The goal of the PCLA is to help the lakes stay healthy.
Thank you again for all your help this year.
Take care!
PCLA Winter Aeration Activities
Caution Advised if Traveling on Pickerel, Little Pickerel, and Smoke Lake Ice this Winter!
Aeration systems will be in operation this winter on Pickerel, Little Pickerel, and Smoke Lakes, all located just north of Townsend in Oconto County. Caution should be used if using or traveling on the lakes ice surface this winter, as the aeration systems will create a large area of open water in each of the lakes.
The Pickerel Chain Lake Association operates and maintains these aerations systems as a means to help prevent fish kills due to the development of low dissolved oxygen levels as the winter season progresses.
The Pickerel Lake aerator is located off the north shore and across the lake from the boat landing at Townsend’s Oughton Park. The Little Pickerel Lake aerator is located on the north end of that lake, and the Smoke Lake aerator is located on the northeast quadrant of that lake.
Pickerel Lake aerator location
Little Pickerel Lake aerator location
Smoke Lake aerator location
The aeration systems will be put into operation once ice thickness on the lakes is considered safe for lake association members to erect an open water warning system consisting of posts and rope. This is usually in late December.
The post and rope warning system will be placed to surround each of the open water areas that will develop. Caution signs warning of the aeration system operation and the presence of open water areas will be placed at the Pickerel Lake boat landing and at other locations where fishermen, snowmobilers, and other lake users typically access the lakes.
The size of the open water areas created by the aeration systems will vary depending on wind and temperature. Thin ice conditions can extend out beyond the edges of the open water, and the lake association reminds all lake users to not assume the ice is safe at the post and rope warning system location, and to always check ice conditions prior to travel near the aeration systems or elsewhere on the lakes.
Fauna Updates
Just based on their sheer numbers, black-capped chickadees qualify as megafauna this time of year. As soon as I put up my birdfeeders in late October, my deck turns into O’Hare Airport, with the little birds zooming on flight paths from and to every direction. (Of course, now that I want a picture for this newsletter they are nowhere to be seen.)
The birdfeeder is also occasioned by white - and red-breasted nuthatches (easy to spot because they are usually perched head down) as well as red-breasted grosbeaks which have a more almond-shaped beak.
We also see a variety of woodpeckers - red-bellied, hairy, and the truly grand pileated woodpecker. This is a large bird (19”) that really is a sight to see with a huge red crest, long grey beak, black back, white shoulders, red cheeks, and black and white striped head.
In lieu of a photo, here is the bird sheet I have out on the kitchen table this time of year. Enjoy!
29 Common Backyard Birds, from BirdsandFriends.co
And for those of you who are already missing warmer temperatures, here are some beautiful summer bird photos from Dawn Jadin, taken on Pickerel Lake Road near Oughton Park.
These three loons kept each other — and all of us - company throughout the summer, flying off to wintering grounds in Mexico in late September. We had a loon nest this spring with 2 eggs, but no hatchlings.
June 2025. Loons on Pickerel Lake PHOTO: Dawn Jadin
And Dawn also shared pictures of a great blue heron and our local swan family. Great blue herons are distinguished by their long neck and a wide black stripe over their eye, as well as long feather plumes on their head, neck, and back (Sandhill Cranes have a red head and no plumage). More about herons in Wisconsin on this birdwatching page. We featured swans in our Fall newsletter.
June 2025. Great Blue Heron perched on Pickerel Lake. PHOTO: Dawn Jadin
June 2025. Swan family on Pickerel Lake. PHOTO: Dawn Jadin
Et Cetera!
We’d love to share your pictures of the lakes on the PCLA website! And your kudos! Please send your pictures, ideas for newsletter content, and your nominations for people to recognize for their lake stewardship activities to BoardPCLA@gmail.com.
