Rodney's REEL Outdoors – Ice Fishing Charters

Rodney's REEL Outdoors turns the Okanagan's frozen mountain lakes into a proper winter day out. Ice-fishing charters run from mid-December, once the ice is safe, through late March: you meet the guide in West Kelowna at 8 a.m., drive up to a trout lake — and, depending on the snow, either park at the shore or ride the last stretch in by snowmobile — and fish until the return around 5 p.m. Everything is supplied: rods rigged with tungsten jigs, spoons and flies, a gas auger, an underwater camera to watch the rainbow, brook trout and perch come in, a six-man ice hut for the cold or windy days, a fire on shore, and a hot lunch of smokies roasted over the coals with snacks and hot chocolate, plus fish cleaning and bagging at the end. Ice charters are full-day only and priced per trip rather than per person — $900 for one or two anglers and $1,000 for three or four, plus GST and gratuity, with a lunch upgrade available — and take up to four anglers per guide. A BC freshwater fishing licence is required and not included; buy it online before the day. The same outfitter runs open-water charters on the big lakes the rest of the year.