'Such a great place": families try out ice fishing at FortWhyte Alive
Winnipeg families took to the ice at FortWhyte Alive Saturday to try their hand at ice fishing.
The nature centre's annual Ice Fishing Festival was an all-day event introducing people to the popular winter sport.
The free event was put on by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation.
Event coordinator Chris Benson said more than 800 people braved the frigid temperatures.
"Manitobans are a hearty bunch. We grow up in a climate that is very cold, so even on a day that's a little more chilly out, we're hearty enough to come out and enjoy the day," he said.
No fishing licences were required, participants could just show up, drill their hole and drop their line.
Benson said ice fishing is a fun activity for the whole family to do together. "It's an activity that moms and dads can take their kids out. We have a really strong ice fishing community here in the province."
For Phil Cavey, it was a chance to try something he'd always wanted to do. "Ice fishing has been on the radar for a long time," he said. "I'm very happy to have my family out with me today trying it for the first time."
Cavey said it was a great way to spend a Saturday. "Fort Whyte Alive is such a great place, we wanted to do some outdoor activities today anyway, so when we went to the website we found that today was ice fishing day, so that was just perfect," he said.
Cavey's son Jersey was having fun, despite not catching anything yet. "I want to catch a tiger fish!" he said.
Benson said people can catch all kids of different fish this time of year. "There's a number of species, there's walleye, northern pike, perch, there's carp. There's a real diversity here of the different species."
He said this spring's chilly weather will likely allow people to continue ice fishing right up until the end of the season in a few weeks.
Benson said the success of this year's event means the MWF will do it again. "We're definitely going to be here next year, introducing a bunch of new people to ice fishing."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
The story of how a B.C. man found his birth mother
After his adopted parents died, Dave Rogers set out to learn more about his birth mother. DNA results and a little help from friendly strangers would put him on a path to a small town in England.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Italy's white-collar mafia is making a business killing
Italy's mafia rarely dirties its hands with blood these days. Extortion rackets have gone out of fashion and murders are largely frowned upon by the godfathers.
Spike in 'violent rhetoric' since Oct. 7 attack from 'extremist actors,' CSIS warns
The Israel-Hamas war has led to a spike in 'violent rhetoric' from 'extremist actors' that could prompt some in Canada to turn to violence, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service warns.
Russia announces nuclear weapon drills after angry exchange with senior Western officials
Russia plans to hold drills simulating the use of battlefield nuclear weapons, the Defense Ministry announced Monday, days after the Kremlin reacted angrily to comments by senior Western officials about the war in Ukraine and Moscow warned that tensions with the West are deepening.
Summer forecast: What to expect as El Nino weakens
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Actor Bernard Hill, of 'Titanic' and 'Lord of the Rings,' has died at 79
Actor Bernard Hill, who delivered a rousing cry before leading his people into battle in 'The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King' and went down with the ship as the captain in 'Titanic,' has died.
Dash cam catches moment suspected drunk driver hits parked car, sends it careening into North Shore flower shop
Police say it’s fortunate no one was injured or killed in a collision at North Vancouver’s Park and Tilford shopping centre Saturday evening that sent one vehicle careening into a flower shop and another into a set of concrete barriers outside a Winners store.
Israeli army tells Palestinians to evacuate parts of Gaza's Rafah ahead of an expected assault
The Israeli army on Monday ordered tens of thousands of Palestinians in Gaza's southern city of Rafah to start evacuating from the area, signalling that a long-promised ground invasion there could be imminent.