First Time on the Ice

Fourth and fifth-grade students from Royal Oaks Elementary School recently had the opportunity to explore and appreciate the natural world, specifically, what lies beneath the ice, through the "10,000 Ice Anglers" project. They experienced this firsthand while ice fishing on Lake Como in Saint Paul.

The “10,000 Ice Anglers” project is sponsored by Elpis Enterprises and led by Karl Erickson. This project aims to give thousands of students the experience of ice fishing for the first time. A grant from the DNR and the Saint Paul Police Activities League provided all of the equipment, bait and fish houses. 

Volunteers from St. Paul Police and Cadets, Urban Ice Anglers, and Baztec Fishing & Outdoors were hosts in the fish houses, where they taught students about ice safety and the basics of ice fishing. The hosts demonstrated how to drill holes in the thick ice using augers, how to set up fishing lines and how to identify a bite on your line. 

It was many of the students' first time on the ice. Out of the over 150 students from Royal Oaks Elementary who participated, 127 had never been ice fishing.

“I had never been on a frozen lake before,” said fifth-grader Penelope Lor. “The ice makes all sorts of sounds.”

“They had lots of tents set up for us that were warm inside.” said fifth-grader Carter LaMott. 

Students quickly learned ice fishing requires patience. Students cheered each other on as they waited for their lines to tug.

“It was really fun even though I didn’t catch a fish.” said fourth-grader Copelyn Kluge. 

“They said I had the lucky fishing pole,” said fourth-grader Colton Benysek. “I did end up catching a sunny on it.”

“I caught a sunfish,” said fifth-grader Yaphet Abeje. “They said someone on the lake caught a northern pike earlier that day.”

“It’s not just about catching fish,” said fourth-grade teacher Jennifer Birkel. “It’s about learning new skills and connecting with and respecting the nature around you.”