(inspirational music) - In this part of the world, it gets cold in the wintertime.

it gets cold in the wintertime.

Minnesotans have always adapted, and they're always looking for new ways to introduce the next generation to cold weather outdoor recreation.

Today we're gonna meet a group of people who've made it their mission this winter to introduce 10,000 kids to ice fishing.

(inspirational music continues) - Hi, guys.

Hi, 5th grade.

Are you excited?

- Yeah.

- Who wants to catch fish?

- [Kids] Me!

- I like it.

- What we have going on today is we're teaming up with a combination of community partners, and it's a long list.

You know, it's a heavy lift.

But one of the main principal person or the person in charge would be Karl Erickson.

And he had this vision 10 years ago, and it's come to fruition.

- [Bret] That vision is to get 10,000 kids ice fishing by partnering with communities and schools across the Twin Cities.

Today, two elementary schools from Woodbury are spending their Thursday on the ice for a field trip.

- One of the things we try to do is give these kids some different experiences.

And over half of my kids have never even walked on ice.

And to think about fishing on it was just exciting.

And to think about fishing on it was just exciting.

- [Bret] Awesome!

Way to go.

- They didn't realize a lot of the things that go into ice fishing, just some some of the equipment, the electronics, the size of the rods I think was a surprise too.

Why they use short rods in those tight spaces?

I think they're so used to, a lot of them have fished before but never in the winter.

They were excited when they rode up in that bus.

- You know, kids are having fun.

They're asking, they're very inquisitive, very curious about, you know, how deep are we, what type of fish are on this lake?

Just really, really awesome questions.

And it's just really, really an honor to be in a position to serve these kids, educate 'em.

(kids chattering) - So to get 10,000 kids out on the ice, there's a lot of moving parts and there's a lot of people involved.

And, you know, Karl came up with this idea and Ray came in to help him out.

But I didn't realize that there were a lot of other partners from the community making this all possible.

- Oh, man, there's so many things that need to go right today.

Number one, in the state of Minnesota, we need the weather for it.

And this year, it's worked out where we have plenty of ice.

Then, where do we find schools and teachers and people?

And well, if we have educators that want to go and do this experience, okay, great.

So now we've got a population of students coming ready to learn, and then we gotta find out other people with the gear and other people that can help.

And over the years, I've collected enough houses that I got eight hubs out here.

And then, you know, obviously, Basstech can bring a couple.

And then Art and Outdoor Group, they bring as many as they got.

And then the police this year, they got their own set of houses.

- Two years ago, we got hooked up with Karl through an officer on the police department, and he wanted to figure out how to collaborate and get some kids out ice fishing.

Our Police Activities League already had a bunch of the fishing equipment and stuff 'cause we had already been doing this stuff.

So we decided to do a partnership.

And then we found out there was a grant through a Capitol Watershed Project.

So this winter, we are bringing 2,000 kids out to Como Lake and getting them ice fishing.

- We have almost 20 fish houses out here today, and that makes this way possible.

And then with the Police Activities League helping and Elvis Enterprise interns helping and Basstech helping, and, you know, Tickets for Kids is actually connected the ice fishing program to several schools this winter.

- Tickets for Kids Charities is a non-profit organization based in Pittsburgh but operating nationally that provides opportunities to children from low income or at risk backgrounds to experience the cultural, sporting and outdoors events of their neighborhoods and cities.

- Urban Ice Anglers connected with Tickets for Kids.

We are connecting them to several different schools.

That's how our program works.

We have about 450 different social service agencies throughout Minnesota that we connect kids to sporting events, theaters, museums, outdoor activities.

We're able to match about 300 to 500 kids to ice fishing experiences.

The vast majority of which have never been before.

Which as a Minnesota kid, this is really something every Minnesota kid should get the opportunity to do.

- The more people, the more help, the bigger the outcome.

(bright music) - Well, things are really heating up out here.

Even though it's cold, there's screaming going on in that house and then that house and then that house.

There's kids catching fish all over the place.

You wanna touch it?

- Can I touch it?

Can I touch?

- Just kidding.

(group laughing) - I'm scared.

- I won't do it, I promise.

- So some of these kids are from Royal Oaks Elementary School in Woodbury, and most of 'em have never ice fished before.

So, I wanted to know just what kind of reaction these kids had when they learned that they're gonna go out and walk on a frozen lake.

- So I have a young lady who really didn't understand the concept of ice fishing and how we're gonna get a fish out of the water.

Once I told her about there's gonna be holes in the ice, she was really blown away of the fact that there's gonna be holes.

And then I explained that we're gonna use giant drills to make those holes, and she was just blown away.

So we watched a little bit of a video and learned a little bit about ice fishing, and she just got done putting a northern back into the water.

So, very awesome.

- Absolutely, I'm thankful when someone puts on an event like this.

I've been teaching 26 years.

And I talked to my wife, I was talking to people in the community saying, "We're taking our kids ice fishing."

And they're like, "What?"

I mean, everybody was like floored by it.

Like, "How are you gonna do that with three classrooms of kids?"

And I'm like, "We heard about Karl being a well organized machine."

And witness today this from the second we drove up, where were ready to go, the kids were in the tents within five minutes of being on the ice.

So knowing we were gonna do this today, and it was something we've never done before, was just a thrill.

I mean, I love to do it on my own.

And the fact that knowing these kids have never done it before, it's like, (gasps) you know?

What a big deal to get 100 kids in 5th grade trying something new.

- Number one, I want them to understand the safety, you know?

At the shoreline and on the buses, we've talked pretty extensively about like, never ever run onto the frozen lake.

The outcome that I wanna see is that it creates less tragedies in the future around thin ice and around cold weather and things like that.

But then also to, you know, showcase that, hey, in this state when we have a great cold long winter, that there's ways to get out and enjoy it.

A lot of us hunker down, but when we bring all the gear and we get the heaters going and everyone's in these fish houses staying comfortable, when you're comfortable, you have a good first experience.

And then maybe some of these kids come back next year or they, you know, get into some other programming in high school or middle school and they wanna do more of this.

You know, it's gonna create a bigger interest in our Minnesota natural resources.

And what we have here on Como Lake and all the other lakes is opportunity.

- Bye!

(kids chattering) - [Kid] Let's go fishing!

- These kids could be the next Bassmaster Classic champ.

You never know.

Next manufacturer of line.

Next engineer of something fishing.

You just never know.

- I've been into probably half a dozen tents, and every single one's got a smile on their face, and over half those tents caught a fish, so... - Some of 'em will take away, "I can do it."

And that's really important for me.

The I can do it.

- I think these kids will absolutely come back and wanna do this again, including with the chaperones too.

It's just been a great day.

- Everybody have fun today?

- [Kids] Yeah!

- [Bret] You guys wanna come next year?

- [Kids] Yeah.

- What a great way to introduce kids to the outdoors.

And if you have an opportunity to be a part of it, whether you're at a school or a parent or if you just have the chance to take a kid outside, bring 'em ice fishing.

Dress warm and bring snacks.

(bright music)