The winter of 2026 was unusually cold and snowy for our region. The lakes froze over with thick ice, and there was concern that fish would struggle because of the lack of open water and oxygen exchange. Members of our local community were making holes in frozen lakes to help the fish, and I decided to do the same on the lake near me. The work was much harder than I expected. The ice was incredibly thick—almost as thick as the length of a chainsaw bar in some places. Cutting through it and removing the heavy blocks of ice took a lot of effort. Making the holes once was not enough. New ice formed quickly, so I returned almost every day, sometimes several times a day, to break the surface again and keep the openings clear. I can't know how many fish benefited from it, but I know the holes stayed open through some of the coldest days of the winter.
