Lockport attraction designed to lure anglers

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This article was published 30/12/2022 (1055 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

An ice fishing village, complete with cleared pathways, free Wi-Fi and an ice rink, is set to open in Lockport next week.

Hundreds will be able to visit the village via Red River Cats at 669 River Rd.

“Our main goal behind it was just to bring the community together. Last year, there was so much snow, and it was just a pain, nobody could get around and there was just no one fishing,” said Cats’ owner Eric Stone.

“We really wanted to do something that let everyone get out, whether you were an avid fisherman, or new to fishing and you wanted to try it.”

The company worked with the Lockport Community Development Group, a team of local business owners, to pull the space together with a number of corporate sponsors.

Extreme snowfall and roller-coaster temperatures last year meant those who did manage to get out on the ice often had trouble clearing the space when the season ended. It took days for some fishers to chip away shacks that had frozen to the ice.

Ice fishing is popular in Manitoba. In Riverton, an entrepreneur has built and rents out a luxury Viking-style ice fishing cabin, complete with a wood-burning stove and full kitchen, that sits on the frozen Lake Winnipeg.

At the Lockport village, visitors will be able to drive their vehicles, shacks and pop-up tents onto the ice. They’re required to take their own gear, but Cats will offer resources to encourage people to come out, including public washrooms, cleared entryways, warming areas, community-run competitions, and garbage cans to promote keeping waterways clean.

Spots are first-come, first-served, but Stone said he’d be happy to expand the space if needed.

“It’ll be a good problem if I have to go clear some more paths and make some more roads for people to go fishing,” he said.

Thursday night, the village had a minor setback. Two 12-foot pillars that were part of its archway entrance were destroyed after a vandal rammed a vehicle into them.

Stone said it appeared to be intentional and he filed a police report Friday.

“Worst comes to worst, you don’t have an archway, it’s not the end of the world,” he said. “We would rather see all the ice cleared and people fishing.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca