Inner Bay busy with ice fishing

By Jessica Tulpin

Ice fishing is a part of the local heritage and culture. There’s something about bundling up and walking or riding snowmobile out to a hut to sink a line through a hole in the ice. The smell of the woodstove, the heat filling the small building, watching the perch and pickerel swim around.

Ice fishing in Norfolk used to be a guaranteed winter activity but in recent years, the winters haven’t always been cold enough to produce ice on the Bay. Every year that Lake Erie freezes over is precious and those in Norfolk take advantage of the opportunity to get out on the Bay.

Hundreds of locals and people from a wide area have flocked to Lake Erie’s Inner Bay to venture on the ice since the second weekend in January. Some walked out, some booked a charter and some rode out on snowmobile with a hut in tow to enjoy some fun outdoors.

Diana Woodward of Woodward’s Ice Fishing told the Good News that business has been very steady since they opened for the season. The fishing charter began selling bait when the ice reached 4.5 inches in depth. Within a few days the ice was thick enough to offer hut rentals.

The seasonal charter offers two, four, and six person huts—perfect for couples, families and groups of friends looking to spend a day on the Bay. Bookings for their huts have been coming in every day. She said they will book until March 15, the date when huts have to be removed daily. She said she hopes the season lasts that long.

She says she and owner Brad Woodward and office helper Tanya Parciak have seen people from all over the province and even some Americans, and they are hearing that the fish are biting!

Crystal Lambrecht of Bayside Ice Fishing has had a similar experience.

“We’ve been super busy,” she told the Good News. They opened on January 16 and offer four, five, and six person huts. “We get bookings for kids’ birthday parties and things like that.” She said they move huts around so they are close together so everyone can have fun fishing together.

She said that the mood along the Bay is positive. “Everybody’s in a good mood. You see people helping each other out. Every walk of life is out here.”

She said Bayside donated two hut rentals to Norfolk Association for Community Living to give its residents a chance to experience ice fishing.

St. Williams’ Lily Mart has benefited from the boost in the local economy that ice fishing season brings. They offer many items an angler might need, including augers, pop-up huts, lures, scoops, propane stoves, hats and mitts, and, of course, snacks and drinks.

Melanie Kim says she has seen a lot of people stop on their way down the hill. “We’ve had people coming from Waterloo, Hamilton, all over the place, to come and fish.” She said her husband, James Kim, tries to keep up with demand and stock everything he can for his customers. “We have two good suppliers now but the longer the season goes on the harder some stuff is to get—it sells out.”

Ice fishing won’t last so get out on the ice and reel in some local perch!

Originally printed in The Good News, February 2025.