Two kids ice fish at Logan Lake on a sunny winter day in January.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jeff Boszak
January 29, 2025 - 6:00 AM
Valley bottoms in the Okanagan and Kamloops areas have not been very cold or snowy so far this winter, but further up in the mountains there are numerous lakes to go ice fishing on.
Salmon Arm residents Audrea and Harald Wulf can be found on fishing lakes throughout the BC Interior all year round.
When iNFOnews.ca reached out to them on Jan. 27, the pair were in their ice fishing tent on Monte Lake.
“There are about 10 other people in their tents out here. It was cold this morning but the sun has come out so we’re nice and warm now,” Audrea said. “Our tent is black so it absorbs the heat.”
Originally from Tuktoyaktuk, Audrea is Inuit and has fished her whole life.
“I eat a lot of fish, I love eating fish and I make some really nice fish sticks,” she said. “We can the smaller ones, and we love to just fry them up too.”
Salmon Arm resident Audrea Wulf enjoys a snowy day ice fishing at Pillar Lake on Chase-Falkland Road on Jan. 2.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Audrea Wulf
The senior couple gets out almost every week on weekdays to avoid crowds, and due to warm winter temperatures this season have had to be more careful when choosing their ice fishing destinations.
This month they went fishing at Pillar Lake between Chase and Falkland when it froze up and then Gardom Lake near Enderby.
When asked what the pair talk about while fishing for hours at a time, Audrea said they compete over who is going to catch the biggest and the best fish.
“You have to be thinking a bit like a fish in order to catch them, what they’re up to and what they’re thinking,” she said.
The ice at Walloper Lake near Kamloops is full of families enjoying fishing in January.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Peter Olsen Imaging
Historically, ice fishing has its roots with the Indigenous people of North America who would break ice over a lake or river and put a wooden decoy shaped like a fish into the hole, according to historyoffishing.com.
When a fish came up to nibble the bait, fishers would use a spear made of wood or bone to kill it.
Later, ice fishers started using fishing rods with a line and hook, and today they use ice saws and augers to make the holes instead of the traditional axe.
The first ice houses appeared in the 1980s where fisherman put portable shacks over the holes as a shelter and some even use heaters to keep the shack warm and prevent the holes from icing over.
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Audrea and Harold Wulf said they love living in the Shuswap for its proximity to mountain lakes.
“We love it here because we love fishing and we find out we can drive somewhere and just walk onto a lake and start fishing, it’s heaven,” Audrea said.
“We just try to have fun and enjoy life. We’re not rich but we’re happy, and fishing keeps us busy and in good shape. Getting fresh air is so good for mental health.”
Kids from Kamloops Immigrant Services enjoy a day of ice fishing on Edith Lake in Kamloops on Jan. 26.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Jesse Ritcey
This month area photographers snapped photos of families having fun ice fishing together at numerous mountain lakes in the region.
If you have outdoor recreation photos you want to share, send them news@infonews.ca.
Salmon Arm resident Harald Wulf fishes off a dock at Gardom Lake Park near Enderby on Jan. 12.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Audrea Wulf
Monte Lake near Westwold is a popular place to ice fish.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Facebook/ Judy Yakielashek
Lac le Jeune near Kamloops is dotted with ice fishing shacks in January.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Mike Kempf
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