Three days, six Ice Castles, 30+ girls, and a multitude of fish. A combination for the best weekend at the Her Wilderness Ice Fishing and Spearing weekend at Watson Hunting Camp on Lac Qui Parle Lake.
After arriving Friday night, a caravan of vehicles made their way onto the lake to get the ice shacks set up and ready to go. In no time, the women on the trip started making connections as they relaxed and dropped a line. For some, this weekend was more than just fishing.
“Walking into this weekend I had a lot of life currently between work and personal situations,” said long time Her Wilderness member Rachel Miles. “Being with this fabulous group of women with Her Wilderness not only distracted me from those uncomfortable life feelings, but it helped connect with others who helped me grow and see a new light that I would have missed.”
When Saturday morning came around, the fun really began. With many more experienced fishers teaching others how to drill holes for tip ups as well as tie jigs from the warmth of their shacks. At the same time, groups of woman began heading out to try their hand at spearing for northern pike.
“It’s truly a rush spearing for the first time,” said Her Wilderness Co-Founder Molly Kwakenat. “I was able to spear my first pike on the first try and I truly couldn’t believe it. It’s always important to be humble though, because just as quick as you can spear a pike, you can lose it off the spear. It was definitely a learning experience but really pushes me to want to keep trying at this new hobby.”
When asking the members, one of the most exciting parts of the entire weekend was knowing there were members on the trip who had never seen a frozen lake, let alone snow. Molly McFarlin, a Florida native, made the trek up to the Minnesota cold to try her hand at ice fishing and spearing.
“Being from Florida, ice fishing has never been a topic of conversation, let alone a possibility,” said McFarlin. “It was so refreshing being able to learn something completely new, and be supported along the way. That in itself is priceless.
After all was said and done, the women gathered together on ice for a bonfire. They came together at the end of the day to enjoy s’mores and share their own personal outdoor stories. It was the perfect environment for connections to be made and friendships to begin.
“In today’s day and age, there is a lot of scary things going on in the world. It’s becoming increasingly harder and harder for young women to experience new aspects of life while still feeling safe,” said McFarlin. “Her Wilderness has created an oasis for all of us women to come and enjoy ourselves, while also creating a world in which we can all be ourselves.”
All images courtesy of Olstad Media. Check out their video recap of the weekend below!
A big thank you to our sponsors of this weekend: