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Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Introducing a New Winter Activity

By HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

February 14^th, 2022

From the snow-covered beach, I could see a group of HoneyRockers setting up what looked like a campsite on Long Lake’s frozen surface. Angular blue tents and piles of gear sat on the vast white expanse under a bright, sun-lit sky. I stepped onto the thick layer of ice and went to join them, excited to learn something new.

About 100 yards offshore, I met up with Vanguards, Fellows, and graduate students who had gathered to officially break in our brand-new ice fishing gear. It was purchased with funds from a generous donor who is passionate about ice fishing and wants HoneyRock to be able to offer the experience to its school year community. Our repertoire of winter activities currently includes cross-country skiing, tubing, snowshoeing, ice climbing, broomball, hockey, and ice skating. Ice fishing is another quintessential Northwoods experience that we're grateful to add to the list. HoneyRockers have dabbled with ice fishing in the past, but now we can really launch into it because we have the right gear. We hope to make an annual event of it during Wisconsin's free fishing weekend, and owning the supplies enables us to take it further and support anyone who wants to pursue a fishing license and fish more frequently while they live at HoneyRock. A big thank you to our ice fishing donor!

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Breaking in the New Gear

It was a very cold Saturday morning, but it didn’t matter because it was so beautiful out on the lake. It almost felt like another world as we got to see our surroundings from a totally new vantage point. The fact that a few months ago we were swimming in the lake and now we're able to ice fish on it is pretty remarkable. Living at HoneyRock gives us the chance to acquaint ourselves with our natural environment in its vast seasonal variety, and the fact that we can just walk right out the door onto the lake is something we don't take for granted.

Cole, a current grad student and Vanguard Coordinator, introduced the activity, explained how ice fishing works, and shared about the different components and tools. Then, George, HoneyRock’s Site Manager, showed us how to bait the hooks and prepare the tip-ups over the holes. After getting the lay of the land, we all participated in setting up our fishing environment. We placed heaters in the tents, used the auger to drill holes in the ice, skimmed rapidly-forming ice layers off the surface of the new holes, baited hooks, and of course just enjoyed being together. It was cool to see everyone gain a sense of ownership as we helped to construct the activity from the ground up.

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

“I was so excited about this that I couldn’t sleep last night!”

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Fishing Community

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.

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

“If you’re having fun and you’re not catching any fish, that says something.”

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Putting it all together

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.

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Ice Fishing at HoneyRock

Going Deeper

After discussing the process of building the activity, George shed some light on HoneyRock's activity culture and the philosophy behind it. Here, outdoor activities are not just hobbies or enjoyable pastimes—they are viewed as opportunities for formation. He said, "you present the whole array of possibilities, and you keep introducing people to things without being pushy, and you see what grabs their attention...let them be the driver.” HoneyRock offers many different types of activities, which allows everyone to become captivated by something. Investing in the activities that resonate with us can reveal important truths about how we are wired and what our natural interests, skills, and passions are. This is especially true of Vanguards, who are in full exploration mode here at HoneyRock. They are seeking to discover how they were made and which direction God is calling them to take, and outdoor activities provide a forum to engage in this valuable process of exploration, captivation, and investment.

George emphasized that community is necessary for this type of experiential education and formation to take place—it is the soil from which everything grows. Community offers a safe space in which we can be vulnerable and explore new things, while being bolstered by encouragement and support. George put it this way: "you have to have some kind of arena context where you can experiment and try and fail and get exposed to stuff, and that’s where God wants to meet us."As Vanguards each find themselves drawn to particular activities, grads, fellows, and professional staff figure out how to come alongside and encourage, resource, and support their journey. This not only fosters and strengthens the learning of the Vanguards, but also inspires and refreshes general zeal for recreation and outdoor engagement. It is a symbiotic and energizing process that helps to uphold HoneyRock's thriving, engagement-oriented culture.

Ice fishing has now been added to the list of activities that will resonate with HoneyRockers in the years to come. Someone will find themselves captivated by the frozen lake and the tip-ups and the auger, and they will receive support from the community as they cultivate enthusiasm and skill in it. More importantly, as they dive into the world of ice fishing, they will hopefully learn something about who they are and who God is. When I asked George to share his hopes for ice fishing, he synthesized the ultimate goal of all HoneyRock activities:

"I hope that it connects people to God, and to one another, and to His Creation—this unique environment that we’re a part of."

Footnotes

Written and Photographed by Emerson Slaughter, Media Fellow '22

FootNotes

Written and Photographed by Emerson Slaughter, Media Fellow '22

© 2026 HoneyRock Center for Leadership Development

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