Middle School students in White Bear Lake are getting hooked on ice fishing

At Sunrise Park Middle School in White Bear Lake, more and more kids are getting hooked on ice fishing.

“I’ve caught sunfish, perch, a northern…that was pretty cool.  I think it’s cool to see kids that have never fished before go out and catch their first fish,” said eighth-grader Jake Richie.

Two teachers took a $5,500 grant from the DNR’s “No Child Left Inside” program and used it to start an ice fishing club at the school.  The money allowed them to get everything from poles to pop ups.  The club fishes two to three times a week in January and February.  Membership has grown from 20 kids to 45 in the past two years.

“They want to learn, they just don’t know how to do it.  If you are patient and willing to teach them, they’ll listen.  That’s how you are going to grow the sport and any outdoor sport is to take them outside and see what happens,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick, one of the Sunrise Park Middle School teachers who helped create the club.

Since 2019 the DNR’s “No Child Left Inside” program has helped 126 similar groups which has reached more than 12,000 kids across the state.