'The first of its kind in Manitoba': Lockport Ice Fishing Village opening soon

Manitoba Ice fishing enthusiasts will soon have a prime spot to drop their lines in Lockport, thanks to a new community initiative.

Setup is currently underway for the inaugural Lockport Ice Fishing Village, a series of plowed roads on the Red River ice just north of the Lockport Bridge.

"What we really wanted to do was design something to really help the community come together," said Eric Stone, owner/operator of Red River Cats - one of the village sponsors. "Last year there was so much snow, no one could get anywhere."

The village consists of one long road plowed across the ice with nine cross streets, each one sponsored by a local business. A total of 26 ice fishing spots will be available for anyone to use free of charge.

"This is all done through our corporate sponsors. If it wasn’t for them, this wouldn’t be happening," said Stone.

He added the entire village will be lit up at night, and there will be garbage cans, public washrooms and free WIFI available throughout the area.

Families can also enjoy a public skating rink while they wait for the fish to bite.

Stone thinks the fishing village will be great for local businesses, "You come down, you can enjoy fishing, you can stop at the local bait shop, you can grab gas at the gas station or a burger. It just promotes all the businesses in Lockport and the surrounding area," he said.

He hopes to have the village fully up and running the first week of January. Stone said this kind of thing has never been done here before.

"This is really the first of its kind in Manitoba. I believe there's one in Ontario, and one in Quebec, and these are huge out in Minnesota," said Stone.

The village will host a kid's ice fishing derby later in the season and there are prizes up for grabs for people who post a photo of their catch on social media. "Every picture that is posted gets submitted in to win a prize, and we have over $25,000 worth of prizes that we're giving out this year," Stone said.

He added that setup has been going well so far, though the entrance arch built for the village was recently damaged by vandals.

But Stone said that's not going to stop them.

"Everybody who's involved in this have put a lot of blood sweat and tears into making this work."

More information can be found online.