Wisconsin, we see you getting wild over there, are you ok? And more importantly… why didn’t I get an invite? Lake Winnebago decided that sturgeon spearing season needed a little more spice— without putting the ice at risk, obviously. For the first time ever, there was a full-service cocktail bar on a very frozen Lake Winnebago. For any legal eagles thinking there’s something amiss, this was a legal bar on ice. State-approved chaos, not someone’s drunk uncle with an extra bottle of whiskey in his tackle box.
So here’s what happened. Lake Winnebago is THE go to spot for sturgeon spearing season, so an Oshkosh-based distillery saw their golden opportunity. Sturgeon Spirits decided to take advantage of a 2024 Wisconsin law change that says that alcohol producers can hold a second retail license. The law didn’t specify that the bar has to be on land, and thus the first legal, full-service Wisconsin on-ice bar was born. Cocktails were served a mile offshore, but the place was so slammed that they had to restock from shore.
If you’re a non-Midwesterner like me and don’t speak fishing, here’s your quick primer on what sturgeon spearing season is. It’s exactly what it sounds like: an annual winter tradition where thousands of people cut holes in the ice and catch lake sturgeon by spear. It’s a beloved Midwestern tradition that many residents trace back to their Scandinavian roots. Multiple generations participate in the tradition alongside each other, grandparents teaching their grandchildren (and even great-grandchildren) how to spot and spear sturgeon. Tourists plan vacations around the icy pastime, whole cities plan events around ice fishing season. In order to make sure that it’s not putting undo strain on the environment, there are harvest caps on how many fish can be caught, and the season will officially be ended early if limits are reached ahead of the anticipated time. It’s… well-beloved organized chaos, and that’s before getting alcohol involved on the scene.
Here’s why the bar is kind of a big deal (and more or less inevitable): it’s not a pop-up dive bar, but a fully licensed and inspected operation. There are full cocktails, not just beer cans shoved into snowbanks for chilling. If you’re familiar with Wisconsin… you know that drinking is already happening during ice fishing. The state just made it possible to add a cash register and liability insurance. Basically, Wisconsin did the most Wisconsin thing ever and said “ we put a bar on a frozen lake and made it legal.”
So now that Wisconsin’s broken the ice (you’re welcome) on serving cocktails during sturgeon spearing season, what’s next now that she’s in her slippery slope era? A pop-up laundromat where you win a free session if you find someone else’s lost dryer sock? Ice-based couples counseling sponsored by a whiskey brand? A lakeside co-working space where everyone has to wear Birkenstocks to be admitted? Honestly, someone might even get really crazy, and log in to see what Wisconsin OnlyFans creators are up to. You wanna talk about a crowd who knows how to skate by exactly on the legal side of saucy, those ladies know what’s up.
Wisconsin didn’t ask permission to formalize ice-side cocktails. They just found a loophole and poured bourbon through it. Whether ice fishing is your thing, you’ve got to respect the moxy of the bar owners. We’ll have to stay tuned to see what they come up with for the summer!
