The sun shone as the temperature reached 17 degrees in Wauconda on Saturday. But wind whipped across Bangs Lake, diminishing the sun’s warmth and forcing most of the ice fishermen there inside portable shelters.
The move came at a cost.
Last month, the village approved a one-time $25 fee for temporary ice shelters and a one-time $45 fee for permanent ice shelters. Those caught on the ice without a permit will receive a warning the first time, but could be fined up to $750 after that, according to Wauconda police Sgt. Michael Aiardo.
Wauconda has required fishermen to register their shanties in the past, but it has not been able to enforce the mandate since the only monitoring came from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources or volunteers.
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However, the village’s police officers started patrolling the lake last year, with funds from boat inspection fees and now ice fishing fees.
Six people have already fallen through the ice this year, according to Aiardo. Officers also check to ensure people are following the fishing rules.
“We really have very few problems here, but last year the biggest problem was the overfishing of the lake,” Aiardo said. “It was non-residents coming in from different parts of the state and just overfishing, keeping the fish they were not supposed to keep and just taking out buckets full of fish.”
Aiardo insists the fee is not meant to deter non-residents from fishing at Bangs Lake, but rather to help pay for maintaining the lake, including restocking the fish. The Bangs Lake Advisory Committee has stocked the lake annually since 2005, according to Co-Chair Ed Lochmayer.
Not everyone is convinced. Some people chastised the village via Facebook when it announced the changes.
“I think it’s just another way to make money,” Travis Bird wrote. “Twenty-five dollars for me to fish that lake isn’t worth it to me. I’ll keep my money thanks!!!”
Ron Behrens lives on Bangs Lake and often ice fishes on the lake during the winter. He does not like the fee because he think it targets people who use shanties, but not people who sit on buckets in the open.
“It’s not going to stop me, but I don’t know,” he said as he checked one of his lines. “It makes sense for the boats, but I’m not sure if it makes sense for ice fishermen.”
Brothers Mike and Jeff Jones drove up to Bangs Lake from Palatine to ice fish on Saturday. They huddled inside their shelter as they waited for more fish to cooperate. They had already caught a few bluegills and a northern pike.
It was their first time ice fishing at the lake this season, and they were unaware of the new permit policy. They saw a sign and said they intended to purchase a permit after they had finished fishing. They said they didn’t mind paying the fee as long as the money went toward maintaining the lake, and if it kept greedy fishermen away.
“(It’s OK) if it keeps some people off the ice that are all about taking fish every time,” Mike Jones said. “We take five to 10 fish one out of three times we’re out, but these other guys are raping the lake.”
Some have criticized the policy, though, saying fishing derbies on the lake are to blame.
The LVVA Ice Fishing Derby and the Walk on Water event are both held annually on Bangs Lake to support veterans organizations and programs and families affected by cancer, respectively. Both groups give $2 of every sign-up fee to the Bangs Lake Advisory Committee to use toward restocking the lake, according to organizers.
The shelter fees do not apply to tournaments.
Despite criticism, fishermen are still flocking to the lake.
Joe Nichele, one of Wauconda Boat’s owners, said some people have come in complaining about how they’ve fished the lake for years without having to pay, but traffic hasn’t slowed because of that.
The crowds have been smaller this year because the ice has come and gone with the fluctuating temperatures, but those who have come out have been fishing “pretty well,” he said.
Those not wanting to pay the permit fee can brave the cold and fish for free without a shelter.
Hawthorn Woods’ mayor, Joe Mancino, fished Bangs Lake for three hours with the company of a friend and some music.
“Only real men fish like we do,” he joked.
Angelica LaVito is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.