Hitting the hard water

Fort Whyte

WINNIPEG

Those looking to try ice fishing for the first time can now do so closer to home.

Turtle Tours, an Indigenous walking tour company based out of The Forks, is behind a new ice fishing program at Fort Whyte Alive. As of Jan. 10, families or groups of up to eight people can book ice-fishing tents on the frozen lakes at Fort Whyte, for a full- or half-day, each Saturday and Sunday through the rest of the winter.

“We’re excited to offer this in an urban setting,” said Ashley Smith, founder of Turtle Tours. “It’s not a cheap sport to get into. But here, kids can come and learn, and you have your tent for the day.”

Equipment is provided for those who need it, and a guided experience, from an Indigenous perspective, is also offered.

“(Ice fishing) is still a really good form of sustenance for us,” Smith said. “We’re looking for that gift we had to survive off of. So we talk about that, all the different types of fish that are in there, and give the new people an opportunity to try it.”

Turtle Tours originally launched as an eco-tourism outfit, Turtle Village, in Riding Mountain National Park in 2023, offering off the grid accommodations and ice-fishing.

“It’s more of a glamping experience, still off-grid,” Smith explained. “We want people to be outside, to cook outside, to hang out outside. Its all about unplugging and health and wellness.”

This past year, changes in park administration, as well as the presence of zebra mussels in Clear Lake, forced Smith and company to make some changes.

“We had to pivot this year,” she said. “We just weren’t looped into the winter planning this year, which was very detrimental to our operation. So we put it on pause. Now that we’re in Winnipeg, we thought why not bring this offering to an urban setting? Fort Whyte welcomed us with open arms. We really believe our two businesses and our offerings aligned with each other.”

A full day booking for a tent is $275, which includes Fort Whyte entry fees, with half-day option available as well.

Throughout the year, Turtle Tours offers visitors and Winnipeggers alike walking tours around The Forks, Thursday through Saturday, with a focus on Indigenous history and reconciliation.

“Some people haven’t heard about the use of the Forks and the importance of the Forks, and the importance of Winnipeg working with our ancestors,” Smith said. “We have ties to the area to our ancestry, through John (The Falcon) Tanner, and we share the history on that and what it looks like. We want to make sure what we share, verbally, is accessible to people.”

Private, corporate or school fishing tours are available throughout the week, by request.

“They’re a lot of fun,” Smith said. “We’re also working on different tours, a foodie tour in the works. We have one, A Taste of Survival, where we talk about pemmican and the importance of that. You get to cook your own pemmican over a fire outdoors.”

Visit turtletours.ca for more information.