Ice fishing palace
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, Minn. — For 72-year-old Orville Larson and his son, Rollie, 45, the ice fishing action on Rainy Lake wasn't fast and furious.
But that really didn't matter.
Father and son spent the morning alone in the toasty ice fishing house, chatting, jigging minnows and peering out the windows at the frozen, white world outside.
"We even fried up some Polish sausage for lunch," Orville said.
The house looked like any of dozens of shacks nearby. But it's the Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club's senior citizen ice fishing house — a communal fishing shack that senior citizens can use for free.
The 10-foot-by-18-foot house is heated, carpeted and has 10 ice fishing holes, a chemical toilet, two-burner hot plate, card table and even a tackle box and bait.
"Rattle reels," reels of line that rattle when a fish hits, are rigged at each hole — meaning visitors really only need to bring a desire to fish because everything else is provided.
Solar panels on the roof generate electricity to power the lights, so anglers can fish at night, too.
And fish they do.
"It's used every day," said Scott Skifstrom, club president, who gave a reporter a tour recently. "A couple of winters ago we kept track and we had 1,200 people use it."
Sometimes groups of seniors gather at the house.
"If there's enough of us, we get a card game going," Orville said. "It's just wonderful."
Call it a community center on ice.
"You get out there with a couple of old-timers and fishing becomes secondary," Skifstrom said. "They'll be a lot of card playing and catching up. But there's been some nice fish caught over the years. A 40-inch northern is the biggest we've heard."
A senior citizen ice fishing house makes sense at International Falls, with its long, cold winters. The 600-member club built it about a dozen years ago, and it has been a big hit.
"We built it for people who can't get out on their own," Skifstrom said. "There are older guys who just love to fish, and they weren't doing it because they didn't have the setup."
Now they do.
The house makes ice fishing easy. There is no heavy house to tow, no portable house to set up and no holes to drill.
"We leave the heat on at 70 degrees to keep the holes from freezing," Skifstrom said. A company donates a tank of propane to keep the house warm.When the ice is thick enough, the club tows it onto Sand Bay, just east of International Falls. Roads are regularly plowed on the lake, so seniors can drive right to the house.The gray-sided house is kept locked. Anglers sign up for a time slot and check out the keys at the nearby Loon's Nest Bait Store."We use the honor system, and it works out pretty well," Skifstrom said.Visitors also keep a journal in the house, reporting what they catch — or don't catch.Soon after the Larsons collected their fishing gear and headed for home, Jesse Laakkonen, 67, of International Falls, stopped in to wet a line. Outside, a brisk northwest wind blew, portending a coming plunge in temperature."It's so nice coming in here," he said. "I have a portable (fishing shack), but you can't beat this."Laakkonen, a retired railroad man and a member of the Rainy Lake Sportfishing Club, said he fishes in the house a couple times a week."I like fishing in the winter better than the summer," he added. "In the winter, you just come and fish; you don't have to worry about rough water or launching a boat."As the sun slipped below the horizon and dusk fell, Skifstrom flicked on the solar-powered lights and the little house glowed. Laakkonen sat contentedly in a corner, jigging a minnow. He soon hooked a small northern, which he released."I was hoping it was a walleye," he said.We chatted about fishing. About Rainy Lake. About the senior ice house.Laakkonen caught a few small walleyes before calling it a day, satisfied with a few bites."As long as I have some action, I'm happy," he said, heading out the door into the dark.
