Once everything was set up, the rest of the experience was choose-your-own-adventure. We moved freely around the different fishing areas based on our interests. Some of us stood outside, chatting and watching for movement in the tip-ups. Others sat together in the heated tents and fished by hand with small poles. Most of us had fished before, but not like this. George explained that fishing in the summer is very different than fishing in the winter. In the summer, you have to be quiet so you don't scare off the fish, you can’t have too many people in the boat, and lines can get crossed. It's more of a companionable-silence activity. In the winter, it's another story. The fish are under 15 inches of ice, so you can have a party while you wait for them to bite.

A couple Vanguards bopped to music as they stood around a freshly-drilled hole in the ice. Will, a Vanguard and enthusiastic fisherman, brought the hype and made plans to continue ice fishing through the rest of the winter. At one point, those of us outside heard a delighted shriek from one of the tents. We ran over to find Kaylee, our Program/Beehive fellow, holding a fish she had just caught, beaming with joy. We cheered and she released the fish back into the lake, and she was still smiling about it that night at dinner. Not many more fish were caught that day, but it was a successful fishing day in every other way.

Participating in the inauguration of a new activity at HoneyRock ignited my curiosity about what it took to bring it to life. I asked George about this, and the first thing I learned is that creating a new activity at HoneyRock is a group effort. It's amazing to zoom out and see all the people that are involved. Professional staff help to steward the activity and get it off the ground, and then seek to hand it off to others in the community, like grad students, Fellows, or Vanguards with an applicable background or interest, so that they can gain experience leading and facilitating. In this case, our donor took the first step to provide the funding, and then George turned to his teenage son and Grandpa Dan to share their expertise about which ice fishing supplies to buy. A current graduate student, Cole, was invited to help facilitate the activity due to his experiences fishing in the lakes of Minnesota. There were also people working behind-the-scenes to actualize the activity, like Tim, our construction fellow, who built new storage cabinets for the ice fishing gear. Because all of these people were willing to offer their time and skills, we were able to get ice fishing off the ground as a real, functioning activity.