Residents head outdoors to relieve stress during the holiday season

By Jaxon McGinn
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Sunny South News

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, there has been heightened interest in outdoor activities, with more people in the Lethbridge area flocking to frozen lakes and ponds.

People are looking to escape from their ordinary day-to-day lives with everything going on. Ice fishing has become one of these escapes as the weather gets colder.

Adam James was at Park Lake Provincial Park Dec. 5,2021 and says ice fishing has been a great way to get out and stay active.

“You still get to go outside and enjoy the outdoors. You don’t feel so cooped up being stuck at home. It’s great, there’s been some nice weather for the winter.”

James brought his son along with him to fish and says they don’t get out very often, so it was nice to bring his kid outdoors and have a good time.

“We come out here quite a bit in the summer; it’s close to home and easy to take the kid. This is my second time out here ice fishing this winter.”

James says the fish weren’t going crazy, but they could still catch some.

“We caught a couple of fish earlier in the day, but after that, it’s just been a few bites.”

Ice fishing can test your patience, and nothing beats the feeling of a fish on the hook, but some days the fish choose not to cooperate.

Codie Arola was also fishing at Park Lake on Dec.5,2021 and said the fish stopped biting when he showed up, but at least his friend could catch some fish.

“So far, we haven’t caught anything since I’ve been here, but they got a few earlier today, I think. So, it’s not too bad.”

Arola hasn’t been out much, but now that the weather’s colder, there are more opportunities to head out to the lake.

“I’ve only been out here a couple of times, and this is my second time; the first time was in the summer. So, we came out today to do some fishing.”

Arola says with everything cancelled and nothing to do, fishing is a fun way to kill time.

“It’s really nice to kick back and get out of the house once in a while.”

For those wanting to try ice fishing and aren’t sure about what regulations are in place, information can be found on the Alberta Fishing Regulations website.

Ice fishing isn’t the only activity people are participating in, kids are coming down to the lake to play hockey and ringette.

The Boyle family was at Park Lake skating, Dec, 5,2021 and they say they don’t want people to know how fun it is on the ice, out of fear the lake will become too crowded.

The cold wind sure didn’t stop the Boyle kids as they skated for hours.

The kids didn’t have much to say, but they did express how much fun they were having being outside.

Get More Sunny South News →