Joe Henry shares his experience as a guest of Women on Ice on a trip to Lake of the Woods for some early-season ice fishing.

The goal of Women on Ice is to inspire and motivate women who want to learn the sport of ice fishing, as well as generate awareness and recognition for women anglers. This movement started seven years ago and has been building. “Awareness of women in the sport of ice fishing has gotten much better,” explains Carey, a retired police officer from Madison, Wisconsin, and founder of Women on Ice.

Carey and other leaders from Women on Ice were up at Lake of the Woods earlier this ice season. It was mainly a work trip, gaining assets for sponsors—which is another way of saying providing images and videos—as well as getting the word out about the benefits of the product lines they represent. Make no bones about it—along with the work, there was some fun, which included ice fishing. “Normally at this event, we would invite women who would like to join us to learn more about ice fishing, or simply get to know other women who ice fish. Because of COVID, we had to hold off on that part of the event,” explained Carey.

The Women on Ice event was based out of River Bend Resort, located at the mouth of the Rainy River that leads into Lake of the Woods. This was home base, where the ladies were staying in cabins overlooking the river and across the ice to Canada.

As a guest at the Women on Ice event, my main role was to stay out of the way! These ladies are proficient with a capital “P!” I rode with Carey on her ATV. It was set up with a Raymarine GPS, so Carey knew exactly where she was both on land and on the ice. It also allows her to follow her plot line to and from fishing spots on the ice, making sure she didn’t get off course.

For the ladies who didn’t have a unit on their sled or ATV, Carey insisted they use their Navionics app in their smartphone. At one point, just as the sun was rising and everyone was getting ready to hit the ice, Carey pulled one of the group aside and asked her, “Do you have your Navionics on? Do you know how to drop a plot line so you can find your way back if need be?” It was all part of it—teaching, promoting leadership and enabling ladies with the skills and tools to be self-sufficient as ice anglers.

When I rode with Carey, she pulled two collapsible fish houses, one attached to the other. Her K-Drill auger was attached to the front of her ATV. She made sure to take my Vexilar in a bucket and put that in the front rack. “With any electronics, I like to put them on the front rack so they don’t get so beat up, banging around in the fish house.” There weren’t many details missed. Equipment was accounted for and secured.

The Women on Ice group was very good about helping each other out. “Are you topped off with gas? I have a gas can in the trailer. Let me grab it for you.” This kind of teamwork resonated.

Naturally, some of the ladies had more experience than others, but it didn’t matter. What mattered is making sure everyone was safe, helping to accomplish the mission of the trip and having a good time.

The Women on Ice event was very organized, with safety being of prime importance.

Once on the ice, these ladies, if they weren’t involved in shooting a video or creating some cool-looking still shots of ice fishing products, were after walleyes. Once we stopped in an area, augers were cutting ice, collapsible fish houses were being set up and heaters were started. Some of the ladies started fishing in the open, simply to get their lines in the water. All were dressed for the weather.

I have to say, the Women on Ice group needed nobody’s help. In fact, I am confident they could provide some good learning for the majority of ice anglers. If they did, they would be cool about it. These are a group of very good-natured female ice anglers who simply love ice fishing, the camaraderie and being ambassadors in a sport they hold near and dear to their hearts. Women on Ice—advancing the sport of ice fishing.

Thinking of trying a new type of fishing this year? Get inspired by reading MidWest Outdoors, available at the newsstand or by subscribing on our website.