A couple from England has been coming to Manitoba for 14 years to go ice fishing.
Diana and Steve Crook live in the UK, and for the first time they tried ice fishing in 2005. They just fell in love with this activity, and since then they come to Lake Winnipeg every year.
“We might not catch fish all the time but just being here is beautiful,” said Diana. “Everybody is so friendly, especially when they know you’re English. They all want to talk to you and take you out somewhere, and the fishing is absolutely fantastic. We love it.”
Now the British say that Manitoba has become their second home. Diana and Steve tried to call their relatives and friends with them, but they did not share their interests.
“They all think we’re mad fishing in these temperatures, but the people are lovely, and we’ve made so many friends that we just keep coming back for more.”
Thanks to their new friends in Manitoba, these two always have transport and all the necessary equipment for fishing.
“We’ve been everywhere in Europe, and probably Canada is the most friendly country we’ve ever visited,” said Steve.
Diana and Steve recently decided to raise awareness of the British about their hobbies. People were very exciting, but only a few said they were ready to spend time in such a cold temperature.
“People are so interested, but when you tell them about temperatures, they say: ‘Oh my god, it’s too cold, we can’t go there,” Steve said.
For the couple of -30C or even -40C means just several extra warm clothes and a few more cups of warm tea or coffee. Such harsh winter does not scare them at all.
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