What I’ve Learned About Taking Kids Ice Fishing So They Want to Do It Again

Practical lessons for keeping kids warm, engaged, and excited to fish again

Taking kids ice fishing is a good way to get them interested in the outdoors. Keep them warm and entertained and your fishing trip will be a positive experience. | Aaron Opsteen

Ice fishing with kids can be a great way to introduce them to fishing and the outdoors, but it can also quickly become a terrible idea if you’re not prepared. Cold fingers, hunger, boredom, and unscheduled bathroom emergencies can put an early end to your day, and worse, create a negative memory for the child. After enough trips to know what works and what doesn’t, I focus on a handful of lessons that make the biggest difference.

Keep It Entertaining

Setting tip-ups can be a great way to catch active biters like pike without complicating the process and potentially losing a child's attention. | Aaron Opsteen

If you're introducing kids (or any newbies) to ice fishing, make it fun. Don't expect them to run and gun or hole hop in cold weather. You're better off staying put.

That could mean setting tip-ups near a shoreline park, giving the kids a chance to play in the snow or run around playing football as you wait for flags.

Or it might mean huddling inside a warm ice shack. Kids really enjoy watching a school of fish on an underwater camera (hey, who doesn't?). And in this era of video games and constant screen time, they will probably do just fine watching fish on a flasher or forward-facing sonar, once you explain to them how to interpret what they're seeing. Make it educational and hands-on and they will do fine.

Make Them Active Participants

I try to keep everyone involved. I'll let someone punch holes (if they're capable). But even young kids can scoop out slushy holes.

Show kids how a tip-up works. It's fun to demonstrate by having a helper pull on the line, tripping the flag.

Let them put their hands in the bait bucket to catch minnows. If that ends up being all they want to do, that's fine. Make sure they're part of the experience.

Keep Everyone Warm

Keeping kids safe and warm is priority number one. | Kurt Mazurek

Nothing ends a fishing trip faster or makes it more miserable than getting cold. Make sure everyone is bundled up for the cold. Gloves or mittens, good socks and warm boots are critical because the extremities are the first parts of the body to get cold.

And it’s never too soon to get them thinking about safety on the ice, especially if this looks like it’s going to be a regular thing. Consider picking up a proper flotation suit, ice picks and cleats for their boots.

If you're watching tip-ups from a shoreline park, you might sit in the truck with the heater running to warm up. If you're in a portable ice house, keep the heater going.

One fun way to introduce kids to fishing would be to rent an ice house for the weekend. Basic units will have holes, chairs, a heater and possibly a stove on which to cook your lunch. Or you may be able to rent an RV-style fish house, which may have a TV, refrigerator, microwave, a small bathroom and all the comforts of home.

Have a Bathroom Plan

Nature inevitably calls with kids—often frequently and at the worst times. Make sure you have a bathroom plan. That could be walking to a shoreline park (make sure the bathroom is open in winter) going to a resort or a lakeside restaurant. Some ice houses do have their own bathrooms, which is a real luxury. Otherwise, there's always the 5-gallon bucket with a garbage bag liner. Whatever method you choose, be prepared.

Bring Plenty of Snacks

If getting cold is the killer of many an ice fishing trip, getting hungry probably ranks second. Any parent of young children knows that snacks are important to keeping kids happy and sometimes averting tantrums! Bring plenty of snacks. Heck, bring marshmallows, chocolate and graham crackers and make s'mores over the heater or over a bonfire on the ice. Make hot chocolate to keep everyone warm. You can have a lot of fun with snack time on the ice.

Choose the Right Fish

Northern pike are a good species for introducing kids to fishing. They are large compared to other species and are usually cooperative biters. | Aaron Opsteen

The ultimate goal of any fishing trip is to catch fish. Finessing lethargic mid-winter walleyes might not be the best way to put a fish on the ice. Consider setting tip-ups for cooperative northern pike. Kids will love watching flags pop and running to the tip-up. And keep in mind, although you might consider a 20-inch pike to be a pesky little fish, to a kid, that's a trophy! Or consider setting up on a good crappie hole at dusk when the fish are active. Grinding it out during a midday high-pressure system isn't fun no matter what your experience level.

Make It About Them, Not You

Make your ice fishing trip all about the kids, keep it fun and know when to quit. Short, productive outings make happy anglers who will want to try ice fishing again. | Aaron Opsteen

Don't expect to do much, if any, fishing for yourself. You may find yourself constantly baiting hooks, unhooking fish, helping them lower their baits, retrieving snacks or going on bathroom breaks. This doesn't really leave you time to fish. However, if no one is catching anything, it doesn't hurt to swoop in and hook a fish and then pass off the rod.

Know When to Quit

Kids have short entertainment spans. Even with the best planning, they may get bored, cold or hungry. Try to schedule your trips around peak feeding windows, and keep outings short so everyone has a positive experience. When kids get antsy or cranky, it may be time to pull the plug, even if you just know the fish will turn on any second. By ending on a high note you increase the chance that their next ice fishing trip is something they ask for, rather than something you have to convince them to do with you.