Petenwell's Ice Season Runs on the Dam's Calendar, and That Date Keeps Moving

When does Petenwell start dropping each winter? Wisconsin River Power Company's own Petenwell page says the annual drawdown "begins in February." The company's last three announcements say otherwise. In 2025 the drawdown started on New Year's Day. In 2026 it started on January 19. Only one of the last three winters began in February.

Castle Rock Lake, the next flowage downstream, started its drawdown on February 1 in each of those same three winters. Two lakes run by the same company on the same river follow two different clocks. If you live near Petenwell, the dam's timing sets more of your winter on the ice than the thermometer does.

Three winters, three different start dates

A drawdown is a controlled lowering of the reservoir behind a hydroelectric dam. Wisconsin River Power Company, known as WRPCO, does it every year to make room for spring snowmelt from northern and central Wisconsin. The drawdown also helps the dams generate more power in winter. Here is how the start dates fell in the company's last three releases.

Over those three winters, Petenwell's start moved by about six weeks. The maximum depth stayed the same every year, so the date is the variable that changed.

Look at the gap between each release and the start it announced. The 2025 notice went out five days before the January 1 start. The 2026 notice went out four days before January 19. The 2024 notice gave about two weeks. Lakeshore owners and anglers usually get days of warning, not a season's worth.

The rules leave room for January on Petenwell

The reason for the split shows up in each lake's operating limits. WRPCO says that between June 15 and December 31, Petenwell's water level can move by no more than one foot. Castle Rock's one-foot limit runs from June 15 to February 1.

So Castle Rock's tight window closes on the same date its drawdown has started three years running. Petenwell's window closes a month sooner. That leaves January open, and two of the last three winters used it.

The company doesn't always explain a particular year's timing. In 2026 it did. The release said the drawdowns were starting early "to allow WRPCO to safely perform maintenance work at the Castle Rock Dam this winter." On the Petenwell page, the depth of each year's drawdown "is governed by the amount of water in the snowcover in the state's northern section." The refill normally starts in late March, and the flowage has to be back at summer level by May 1. In 2026, WRPCO expected both reservoirs back to normal by the end of April.

Maintenance at one dam, snowpack hundreds of miles north and a refill deadline in spring all feed into the start date. That's why one year's date says little about the next. As of mid-October, WRPCO had not announced a date for this coming winter.

What the company says about the ice

Lowering a reservoir under a sheet of ice changes the ice. Every WRPCO release in this series carries the same warning. The January 2026 version puts it this way:

A drawdown can create thin or unstable ice conditions on a reservoir.

The company's list of precautions includes avoiding snowmobiles and other vehicles on the ice, obeying warning signs, flashing lights, horns and sirens, watching for fast-changing water conditions, carrying a cellphone, staying outside buoy lines and planning an escape route. When the 2026 drawdown began, WSAW reported that WRPCO was asking people to keep vehicles and snowmobiles off the reservoir ice above Petenwell Dam through April.

For anyone who drives a truck or sled out to a favorite spot, that guidance covers most of the hard-water season once the drawdown starts. When it starts is the part that moves.

Where the fisheree calendar meets the dam calendar

Rome's winter fisherees run on fixed patterns. Visit Rome's ice fishing page lists them this way:

• Petenwell Palooza: the second Saturday in January at The Lure Bar & Grill, 1735 Archer Lane
• Lake Sherwood Fisheree: the third Saturday of January at The Sherwood Lodge, 1146 West Queens Way
• Ducks Unlimited Fisheree: January 24 at 8 a.m. at The Lure Bar & Grill, with no year given
• Lake Camelot Fisheree: the third Saturday of February at The Camelot Lodge, 298 Leisure Lane, held alongside a Wisconsin DNR Free Fishing Day

Put the second-Saturday pattern next to the table above and the timing changes from year to year. In 2024, the second Saturday of January was January 13, about four weeks before Petenwell started dropping on February 10. In 2025, the second Saturday was January 11, ten days after the drawdown began on January 1. In 2026, it was January 10, nine days before the January 19 start. One winter's Palooza ran on a reservoir that was already dropping. The other two came before the drawdown.

If the pattern holds, this winter's Petenwell Palooza falls on January 9, 2027. The organizers haven't posted a confirmed date yet, and the Rome Sno-Bandits fisheree page still shows its 2026 flyer. Whether that Saturday lands before or after the drawdown depends on a WRPCO release that, going by the last two winters, will probably come out around the holidays or in mid-January.

Lake Sherwood and Lake Camelot are their own lakes, separate from the flowage. The Petenwell drawdown calendar applies to the Palooza and any other day spent on the big water.

Checking the level yourself

You don't have to wait for the news release to see what the reservoir is doing. WRPCO posts current reservoir levels and river flows on its Hydroelectric Project Data page. Once a drawdown is underway, that page shows how far the water has dropped.

Late October also marks the dam's own seasonal changeover. Above Petenwell Dam, a restraining cable with orange floats spans the powerhouse intake and the gate section. It goes in after spring breakup and comes out in late October. WRPCO's standing boater guidance still applies with the cable gone. Stay at least 300 feet upstream of the dam, and treat a flashing beacon as a sign that a flood gate is open.

The stops that get the season going

Visit Rome lists the local outfitters and guides who work Petenwell through the winter. Call ahead to confirm hours, since the listings don't show a date.

Rome Outdoors sells live bait, tackle and basic supplies. Its listed winter hours are 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The number is (715) 751-0333.

Buckhorn Store carries fishing equipment, tackle and bait, along with a full convenience store and fresh-baked pizzas and subs. Listed hours are 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

Team Walleye Guys Guide Service fishes the Wisconsin River from Stevens Point south through the Petenwell Flowage to Wisconsin Dells and supplies the equipment, bait and tackle. J-Mata Fishing is run by Jason, a lifelong central Wisconsin angler who spends a lot of time on Lake Petenwell and has guided and fished tournaments for 20 years.

For day-to-day conditions, Visit Rome points anglers to the Petenwell Tips, Tricks, and Reports group on Facebook as a locally run resource.

Petenwell covers 23,040 acres with a maximum depth of 48 feet. WRPCO can lower all of that water by up to five feet each winter. Over the last three winters, it has started anywhere from January 1 to February 10.

Own a place on Petenwell, or thinking about one? I'm glad to talk through how the flowage's seasons shape life on the water, from the drawdown to the May refill. Reach out to Seth Tully any time, and when you're ready, request your free home valuation.