A Fishing Legacy: Bringing a family tradition forward
Fishing is a reflection of childhood for Ice Fishermen Ben Frostestad. While others are in the house making hot cocoa, Frostestad is packing up his gear and getting ready to fish in the cold winter. After returning from one of his fishing trips recently, he asked me if I have ever gone ice fishing.
I told him I never had.
What he didn’t know was that I have a great fear of fish. He offered to show me and I said, “Let’s do it.”
A year and a half later, we would keep small updates with each other about a potential opportunity for an ice fishing trip. He also made it his mission to help me overcome this fear of fish.
We continued our communication, Frostestad mentioned that there haven’t been any great opportunities as this year’s winter has been warmer than usual.
I reached out to my network to see if anybody would know of a lake. In a matter of an hour, a professor mentioned to me they had a private lake on their farm.
The trip was on, and we arrived at the Moonfire Ridge on a cold Friday afternoon. This farm was so quiet my ears popped and there was no change in elevation. Frostestad and I started to get to work.
Frostestad drilled a hole to get a good sense of the lake. He scooped out the ice shavings with a kitchen spoon to allow for his technology to go in the cold water and get a good scan of the lake.
The ice was 12 inches thick, thick enough for a fire to be lit on top of it. Frostestad saw in the first hole that the lake was 8 feet deep on the west side.
There were fish swimming
and he knew this as the heat of the fish would be seen on the ice fishing detector.
We drilled about seven more holes in the ice and with his technology, we found the deepest part of the lake, about 10 feet deep on the north side.
Frostestad was first introduced to fishing by his grandfather, Virgil Ewoldt, when he was 3 years old. His grandfather showed him the worms, the string and the patience.
His grandpa passed away last year, but Frostestad continues his legacy in the icy plains in silence.
He keeps the ice fishing tradition alive as a reminder of the great moments he shared
with his grandfather and the exhilarating joy they both felt catching a fish.
He showed me what his grandpa had taught him.
On this fishing trip he caught a great sunset, but no fish.
Frostestad enjoys bonding and sharing stories in the journey of catching a great fish.
It is not about how long for him, but what’s next.
As luck would have it, I was actually the one who caught the fish and I will say I still have a great fear of fish.
The ice was 12 inches thick, thick enough for a fire to be lit on top of it. Frostestad saw in the first hole that the lake was 8 feet deep on the west side.
There were fish swimming
and he knew this as the heat of the fish would be seen on the ice fishing detector.
We drilled about seven more holes in the ice and with his technology, we found the deepest part of the lake, about 10 feet deep on the north side.
“Sometimes when the ice is thin the fish can see you, but this ice is thick enough where they can only hear us.”
Ben Frostestad
Ice Fisher
Ice Fisher
Frostestad was first introduced to fishing by his grandfather, Virgil Ewoldt, when he was 3 years old. His grandfather showed him the worms, the string and the patience.
His grandpa passed away last year, but Frostestad continues his legacy in the icy plains in silence.
He keeps the ice fishing tradition alive as a reminder of the great moments he shared
with his grandfather and the exhilarating joy they both felt catching a fish.
He showed me what his grandpa had taught him.
On this fishing trip he caught a great sunset, but no fish.
Frostestad enjoys bonding and sharing stories in the journey of catching a great fish.
It is not about how long for him, but what’s next.
As luck would have it, I was actually the one who caught the fish and I will say I still have a great fear of fish.
