New youth fishing area planned
By Greg Seubert
There’s more to high school than homework and sports.
In the case of Weyauwega-Fremont High School, there’s also an opportunity to go fishing.
The school’s fishing club, now in its second year, hosted a fisheree Jan. 26 on Weyauwega Lake, a 253-acre impoundment of the Waupaca River that flows through Weyauwega before it empties into the Wolf River a few miles east of town.
Kyle Scherwinski, an English teacher at the school, advises the group, which has about 40 members.
“Noah Greening, one of our members, approached me about starting the club,” he said. “Any student can come to a teacher and ask them to be an adviser and he knew I like fishing. He’s out here every day fishing. He just loves it.”
Greening and other club members showed up at the fisheree to help drill holes for teams. Although the temperature was well below zero as the fisheree got underway, several vehicles, anglers and tip-ups covered the lake by 10 a.m.
Club member and W-F sophomore Steven Billington didn’t have to wait long, as he caught a 31-inch northern pike on a live shiner soon after the fisheree started while fishing next to Greening and another club member, Tristen Wieters.
“It’s about hanging out with your friends and learning new things,” Greening said. “For me, it’s a learning experience. I’m still trying to figure out the lake and seeing where I can catch the most.”
“We talk strategy a lot and share ideas,” Scherwinski said. “Everybody comes with their own tactics for setting up a tip-up, how to jig and where to go. We have 45 members and probably 20, 25 very active members. We do ice fishing tournaments through the Wisconsin Interscholastic Fishing Association. We also do what we call Walleye Wednesdays or White Bass Wednesdays where we get a couple of chaperones with boats and do some jigging in the spring on the Wolf River.”
Scherwinski is also a member of Weyauwega Lake Restoration Inc., which hosted the event.
“We’re trying to get Weyauwega Lake back to being a good fishery,” he said. “It’s on its way. We just had a spring shocking and the DNR gave us some pretty promising numbers.”
That shocking survey included a 26-inch brown trout that made its way into the lake through the Waupaca River.
“The restoration group is always looking for new ways to revitalize the lake,” Scherwinski said. “A drawdown kind of wiped out what was there and now, it’s making its comeback. We knew that was going to be a long process, but we’re getting there. It’s a slow process, but it’s working.”
Some of the proceeds from the fisheree are earmarked for a new youth fishing area on the lake’s north shore.
“We’re trying to set up some new piers for a youth fishing area,” Scherwinski said. “There’s already a pier there owned by the city, but we want two more and we want to drop in some fish sticks. We’re also trying to make it a science area. Lynn Ponto, a science teacher at the high school, does water testing around the area and brings the kids out. She’s been instrumental in getting the kids out to do weed removal.”
The fisheree handed out prizes for the largest fish.
“We have three age categories: (ages) zero to 9, 9 to 12 and 13 and up,” Scherwinski said. “We’re doing biggest pike, biggest bass, biggest panfish and biggest other should somebody catch something else like a bullhead or trout.”
Organizers also handed out door prizes donated by Walleyes for Kids, a local organization that promotes outdoor-related activities for kids, and local businesses.
Bill Krueger of Weyauwega showed up for the fisheree and believes the lake’s weed problems of the past are being addressed.
“I was out here in the spring and the bluegills are starting to come back,” he said. “I have seen a lot of nice northern come out of here and the bass are nice. It’s turning around pretty good. There’s only so much you can do, but we’re trying.”
He said he likes the idea of a youth fishing area.
“Do it, by all means,” he said. “Anything that can get them away from the TV or the computer, all the better. You have to get them back out here. Do whatever you can do to get them out.”
Greening, a senior, expects the club that he help get off the ground keeps growing after he graduates.
“I’m going to miss it, but it’s going to continue,” he said.
“It’s another outlet for the kids to keep them engaged in school,” Scherwinski said. “As a teacher, I can say, ‘Hey, you have to get your grades up or you’re not going to that fishing tournament.’ It’s a great motivator and it helps keep them connected with the school. It’s crazy, the range of people I have in this group. It’s interesting to see the different social groups come out for the same thing. They all bond through fishing.”