Park Rapids Scouts hit the ice for winter fun

012122.E.PRE.CatchingNorthern6106.jpg — Sean Ward (standing), a Boy Scout transfer from Michigan, catches his first fish through the ice, a northern pike, with a little help from Sean and Ethan Tate (kneeling) and hoots of support and celebration from Scoutmaster PeeWee Zinniel (foreground) during a Park Rapids Scouting outing Dec. 27, 2022, on Fish Hook Lake.

January 18, 2023 09:39 PM

The winter holidays presented a perfect opportunity for a joint adventure for Park Rapids Cub Scout Pack 58 and Boy Scout Troop 58.

According to Dave Hanson, the boys got together at the Zinniel family farm on Dec. 27 on the shores of Fish Hook Lake, before taking to the ice to try their luck at ice fishing. There they built a campfire in a shoreline fire pit for warming, roasting hot dogs or brats, or brewing a cup of hot chocolate.

012122.E.PRE.ScoutsGoFishing6100.jpg — More than 30 Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, leaders and parents capitalized on the holiday break from school to enjoy a winter ice fishing excursion from the shores of the Zinniel family farm on Fish Hook Lake, Dec. 27, 2022 near Park Rapids.

While the “catching” out on the lake was extremely slow, the fishing fun was fast and furious, Hanson said.

Sean Ward did manage to turn fishing into catching, when the Michigan transfer pulled up a 20-inch northern pike. “That prized catch was his first ever through the ice, and after a few pictures, the hammer handle was promptly released to grow for another day,” Hanson said.

Hanson continued, “Even though the bite was slow, more than 30 scouts, leaders and parents enjoyed a great day on the lake, either beginning or adding to their personal stringers of good times and memories caught while angling their way through the Scouting experience.”