This winter’s ice season was ridiculously short! I actually spent the majority of it up on Lake of the Woods because the Superior ice was so weird – and I am sooooo bummed that I have to put my gear away. I tried to hold out as long as I could…
That being said, however, I did have some extremely fun adventures in this short season. (That’s putting it mildly!)
I am happiest out on the ice in extreme weather, as many of you already know 😉 . The conditions for the 2nd Annual Women Ice Angler Project trip in February did not disappoint – -30 at sunrise makes for some of the most gorgeous light on the planet.
This year’s WIAP team included professional anglers Barb Carey, Shelly Holland, Bonnie Timm, & Rikki Pardun, long time ice angling instructor Holly Hanson, writer Kristine Houtman, and myself.
The WIAP headed up to Cyrus Resort on Lake of the Woods in mid-February. We had some great food, really, really comfortable accommodations (many times ice fishing trip cabins are not nearly this nice), and fishing was productive. Barb caught and released a beautiful 40 inch pike on a Beaver Dam tip up, and the rest of us were on perch, sauger, burbot, and walleye- and a few other random things that showed up.
For those unfamiliar with the WIAP, it is an annual media event that highlights women ice anglers:
In January 2015, the Women Ice Angler Project had it’s first trip to Lake of the Woods, MN. Started as a one time media event to create positive images of women in ice fishing, the Women Ice Angler Project has continued as a way to showcase women anglers doing what they do best on the ice.
This year’s sponsors included:
- Clam Outdoors
- Chevrolet
- Vexilar
- Jiffy
- Aqua Vu
- Outdoor First Media
- The Great Wild Radio Show
- Fish on Kids Books
- StonehousePhoto
- WI Women Fish
- Cyrus Resort
- Lake of the Woods Tourism Bureau
We hope you enjoy the photos, and we cannot wait to head out next year!
This post may contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a portion of the purchase price. I appreciate you sharing these links - it keeps me in business!
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts and our weekly newsletter.
Beth Rodgers
March 26, 2016 at 2:03 pm (5 years ago)Nice fat healthy pike! Looks serene but pretty cold!