Even though winter has been warmer than average this season, officials from the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County decided the ice was safe enough to hold the annual Hard Water Classic Ice Fishing Tourney on Feb. 13.
More than 170 people came out to Silver Lake in Warrenville for the event, officials said. The largest fish caught at the event was a 26-inch long northern pike. The top three catches of largemouth bass, bluegill, northern pike and crappie received gift cards of $75, $100 and $125 to local sporting-goods stores.
Jay Johnson, manager of site operations with the district, said they canceled the tourney’s original date of Jan. 9 because of warm weather and dangerous ice conditions. Johnson said he is glad it worked out on Feb. 13. “The weather all of a sudden started to look favorable for the event,” Johnson said. “I had to make a decision the week of the tournament. We got lucky; the lake was making ice fast.”
Johnson said that unpredictable weather makes planning outdoor winter sports in the area challenging. Winter sports hosted by the district include tube sledding at Mount Hoy in Warrenville and cross country skiing and snowshoeing at other various preserves. “We haven’t received enough snow to open up the hill (Mount Hoy) for tubing,” he said. “We need at least three inches of snow for tubing.”
The warmer weather this winter season hasn’t been a surprise for many people. Weather forecasters predicted a warmer and drier winter season because of the weather phenomenon known as El Nino. The last strong El Nino like this one was during the winter of 1997-98, which ended up being the seventh-warmest on record for Chicago. El Nino is a warming of the Pacific Ocean west of Peru. It affects weather across the globe and usually means more warm air flowing across the Plains and Midwest.
For those who don’t like the cold, the forest preserve district offers numerous other indoor activities, such as theater events, music performances, cast-iron cooking workshops and even computer classes.
Those interested in activities offered by the Forest Preserve District of DuPage County should visit: dupageforest.com
Joseph Ruzich is a freelance reporter.
