Airboat allows access in all weather conditions. Wochit


GREEN BAY - Zach Burgess of Algoma opened the throttle of "Why Knot" and the 350 Chevy engine roared.

The 5-foot propeller at the stern whirred and jolted the vessel forward Wednesday on the ice at the public boat launch in southern Green Bay.

Burgess then yanked a steering lever, lowered the power and fishtailed to a stop 10 feet from shore.

"Hop in," said Burgess, a licensed charter captain who owns Why Knot Fishing Charters.

The rest of our crew - which included Burgess (34) and his children, Addisyn (8) and Finn (4) as well as his father, Bob Burgess (56) and me - piled into the gleaming aluminum craft for a day of fishing and adventure.

Burgess then gunned the engine once more and pointed the bow north.

Why Knot rumbled across the semi-frozen surface, ready for whatever ice or water conditions awaited.

The craft, an airboat, was the only powered device venturing onto the ice of Green Bay on this mild winter day.

The ice conditions near shore were too iffy for even an ATV or snowmobile. The water on the main bay was completely open.

Burgess piloted Why Knot over about 4 inches of ice toward a flat known to hold good numbers of yellow perch.

The boat moved about 15 mph, alternately bouncing like a carnival ride and gliding as smoothly as a car on new asphalt. 

Then the hull dipped in a patch of weaker ice. For the next 300 yards the Why Knot was a square-fronted ice breaker plowing ahead at 5 mph. Sheets of ice crumbled and scattered to the sides.

Soon enough the bow climbed back up on stronger ice and Burgess increased the speed. 

Wind whipped past as the boat skidded across the hard water.

Burgess, monitoring a digital sonar unit at his side that serves as GPS, depth indicator and speedometer, cut the engine at a waypoint north of the Cat Island chain.

Our air-powered chariot had delivered us to perch central. 

"This time of year is the reason I have (the airboat)," Burgess said. "Today we wouldn't have been able to get this many people and gear here by any other method."

Why Knot is unique from many perspectives. It's the only airboat used by a charter captain on Lake Michigan.

And since it was designed and hand-built by Burgess, there's none other exactly like it.

Most Wisconsinites probably associate airboats with the Florida Everglades. The craft are actually quite versatile and are used even in northern climates.

A handful are found in Wisconsin, mostly for use by fire departments and other first responders or by salvage operators.

Burgess decided a couple years ago he wanted an airboat to fill some seasonal gaps in his fishing business caused by Mother Nature. 

The early ice period in November and December on Green Bay can be very good for yellow perch, and the late ice can be very productive for walleye and lake whitefish.

But both times can be subject to dangerous ice conditions and prevent anglers from enjoying the action.

After a deal to purchase an airboat in Florida fell through last year, Burgess decided to build one himself.

He started in April and finished in September. 

Burgess had no blueprints and no boat building experience.

But he had lots of Badger State fortitude. 

"Growing up in his house, you learned how to do everything yourself," Burgess said of his father, a retired maintenance worker.

The Bob Burgess home was mostly self-built, including the second level, garage and back addition.

"I created a monster," Bob Burgess said of his son. "A good one."

Growing up in Algoma, Zach Burgess was known locally as "a kid who could catch a fish in a mud puddle," Bob said.

Zach began working on Lake Michigan charter boats at age 14 as a first mate.

When he was 19, he got his U.S. Coast Guard merchant mariner license. At 20, he bought his own boat and started Why Knot Fishing Charters.

Why Knot is named after a boat used by Burgess' grandfather, also a Lake Michigan charter captain, in the late 1980s.

Burgess has run open-water trips for salmon, trout and walleye since 2005, and ice fishing charters since 2010.

For the airboat project, it was essential he learn to weld.

The vessel started with a "sheet of aluminum and worked up to that," Burgess said, nodding at the 15-foot-long, 8-foot-wide craft. 

The boat has 3/16" aluminum on the bottom and 1/8" aluminum on the sides. A 5/8" plastic sheet also covers the bottom to help the boat glide over whatever surface it may be on.

For power, Burgess re-purposed a 350 Chevy inboard from a power boat. He added an air-cooling system and exhaust. 

After months of welding and wiring, in September Burgess took Why Knot for its maiden voyage on the Ahnapee River in Algoma.

A couple of rivets leaked, but the boat proved seaworthy.

On Nov. 28 he took the boat on the ice for the first time. 

Learning to drive an airboat is a challenge, Burgess said.

"I've watched a ton of videos," he said. "I know one person who sunk theirs the first time out, and I didn't want to repeat that."

On smooth ice, the boat glides so well that it can take 50 yards or more to stop.

Burgess has piloted the airboat as fast as 30 mph on open water and 55 mph on ice.

"It'll do over 60, but there's no reason to," Burgess said.

The boat can seat as many as six people, but Burgess typically takes out three or four adults.

It's a temptation to call it an amphibious vehicle. But that's probably too limiting.

It can handle slush, open water, thin or thick ice.

If the ice is thick enough, Burgess would use a UTV or Sno-Bear tracked vehicle to carry anglers and gear to fishing spots on the bay.

But in the tricky, shifting conditions found in recent days and weeks, the vehicles weren't a safe option.

On Wednesday a couple dozen anglers were visible fishing along the western shore of Green Bay near Suamico. All had walked out on about 4 inches of ice.

Our group traveled over good and poor ice to a spot farther offshore. We drilled 15 holes and set out tip-ups baited with lake shiners. The area featured a flat in about 8 feet of water.

Five minutes after setting the first rig, a flag fluttered and Addisyn pulled in a 9-inch perch. 

Several minutes later it was Finn's turn, this time with an 11-incher.

The action continued to be brisk from about 9 to 10:30 a.m., with perch ranging from 6 to 12 inches.

Northern pike visited our baits, too, and we had three bite-offs. Burgess landed one pike, a 26-incher, that was hooked in its lip.

Toward mid-day the perch bite dropped off, with flurries into mid-afternoon.

The mercury climbed to 36 degrees by 2 p.m. and the wind was barely perceptible. We fished with bare hands, a gift during the Wisconsin ice season.

Herring gulls and bald eagles flew over at frequent intervals, inspecting the odd fishing party below.

The airboat has attracted plenty of looks from anglers, too.

"It's not your typical fishing boat," Burgess said. "It's definitely been an interesting project."

At 2:30 we decided to pull our lines and load Why Knot for the return voyage. We had kept 24 perch and one northern. 

Burgess followed the same path back to the landing; the broken ice had yet to refreeze in the mild conditions.

At the landing, Burgess loaded the airboat on his customized trailer as easily as any normal boat. But this power load was assisted with an aircraft propeller.

Only Mother Nature knows what's in store for the 2019 Green Bay ice fishing season. 

In normal years, Burgess has his big, hard-sided shacks in position in mid-January. The structures hold groups of anglers, most intent on catching lake whitefish.

But this year, there's no telling when he and other guides will have enough ice to tow the shanties into position.

Why Knot may be seeing extensive action in its first season.

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