An avid ice fisherman from Niverville says he got into the sport at a very young age and has been something he's enjoyed doing with his family over the years. 

Bradley Kutzak notes his father introduced him to ice fishing when he was five and has loved it ever since. Kutzak says he hasn't been out as many times as he'd like this year but with this weekend being a free ice fishing weekend in Manitoba, he will be out on the lake for sure. He explains what kind of year it's been so far. 

"For me, it's been a little bit slower this year, I've been talking to friends and family and they've had some good days and some slower days but that's how fishing goes. We'll be going out this weekend to Lake Winnipeg, hoping it goes a little bit better than the last few times we've  gone out."

 Kutzak says it has become a Christmas tradition in his family to take out a few pounds of fish and have a fish fry at Christmas time. Kutzak shares one of his most memorable ice fishing stories.  

Photo credit: Bradley Kutzak

"I was eight years old and I remember I was there with my brother, my day and my grandfather, just sitting there talking and next thing I know I tangled into this thing and it tangled all of our lines. I think it tangled about eight or nine lines. It was running around down there pretty good and took us a good while to get it up but when we got it up, it was a really big jackfish. Probably the biggest fish I've ever caught."

Kutzak adds ice fishing at this time of year is really fun, especially with the way the forecast looks for the weekend because you can be out on the lake where it's quiet, enjoy time with family and friends and not have to sit by a heater in an ice shack all day.