An underground yet loved winter activity is brought back to the surface for the season as the chill reappears—many students and staff members at Benilde-St. Margaret’s will head up north this winter for fun and memorable weekends of ice fishing. They’ll spend the weekend on the frozen lake, surrounded by friends and families, waiting for a catch.
Most people get into ice fishing through the influence of friends and family. By joining along on their adventure, more students have gotten involved in the hobby of ice fishing in recent years. Some people can find themselves ice fishing multiple times a week, while others only go a few times throughout the season on special occasions. “[I go ice fishing with] my dad and his family. When we went up to Brainerd, we would always do a day of ice fishing up there. We’d go up as a family once a week,” senior Tommy Staples said.
Some people think the best time of year to go ice fishing is at the very start of the season and again at the end once the ice has reached the point of being just thick enough to walk on. Avid fishers have a wide variety of opinions. Some say that the right time to go is between December and February. However, the fishing part itself can often be agreed on. Most are targeting sunfish and crappies when they head out on the lake, yet some are there for the experience and are not looking for a certain fish type at all. “[I go for] whatever bites the line, [I am] not really fishing for anything [in particular], whatever tries to grab the hook is what I’m going for,” Staples said.
Many people go ice fishing to connect with nature and to spend time with their loved ones, away from the screens and the daily distractions. This winter activity offers a chance for meaningful social interactions as fishing doesn’t guarantee a catch and is typically well-loved for creating an environment to talk and bond. “It enables me to embrace the winter, rather than stay inside and hide from it,” English teacher Paul Canavati said.
One of the most memorable and loved aspects of ice fishing is the way it brings people together, creating a sense of friendship and community that is hard to find off the ice in the cold months. Some of the best memories revolve around catching a 36-inch Northern Pike out of Lake Johanna in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Another favorite memory from Gull Lake is where they would fish so far out that someone had to come to pick them up, or it would be a long, freezing walk back. “I heard screaming behind me, and I saw them jumping, and I ran over and my wife had the rod completely tangled in her string, and I pulled out a 36 inch northern,” Canavati said.
Ice fishing can be dangerous, and some of the scariest memories come from moments when things go wrong. BSM ice fishers have experienced it all. From someone’s leg being stuck in the ice to walking back alone from far out on the lake, worried about falling through the ice, the well-loved activity also can create a sense of danger and thrill. “My son was three or four, and he was exploring the ice as he fell through the ice behind me, or someone had removed their ice shack where they were spearing for northerns, and so a big hole in the ice, and he came to me. I didn’t even know he fell in. He came to me crying completely, sopping wet,” science teacher John Porisch said.