Book now

Best ice fishing in Ivalo: which trip for which day

A snow-covered wooden bench on the shore of a flat frozen lake at sunset, footprints leading out across the snow towards a line of forest

Illustration photo: a frozen lake at sunset, not Lake Inari.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

If the fishing is the point, book the trip with the local fisherman, who shows several winter methods rather than one. If the day should be good even if nothing bites, book the trip that adds two reindeer and a hot lunch in a traditional hut. If you want to drive a snowmobile too, ask for an hour of fishing to be added to the Lake Inari safari.

How the operators compare

Prices are the operators' own published starting prices as of the date this guide was updated, and they change through the season.

Arctic GuidesIvalo SafarisSnowmobile add-on
The fishing Several winter methods One rod each, worm or maggot One hour
Besides the fishing Warm drinks by a fire Two reindeer, hot lunch Driving a snowmobile, lunch
Winter clothing On request Lent Lent
Getting there Meet in Ivalo; car to the harbour Hotel pickup Hotel pickup
Youngest 10 Not stated 10

Nothing is ranked: a lesson in methods and a day with reindeer and lunch are different trips, not better and worse ones.

Where these figures come from
  • Arctic Guides: A local fisherman leads the trip and shows several winter fishing methods by a fire, after a car ride to the harbour and a sleigh across the lake.
  • Ivalo Safaris: Fishing with worm or maggot at the company's spot, then its owners' island with two reindeer and a hot lunch in a traditional hut.
  • Snowmobile add-on: An hour of fishing added on request to the Lake Inari snowmobile safari, for anyone who wants to drive as well.

Both ice fishing trips from Ivalo spend about four hours getting to Lake Inari by sleigh and fishing there, so the difference is what else the day holds.

If the fishing is the point

The trip with a local fisherman meets in Ivalo, drives to the harbour and crosses the lake by sleigh, then introduces several winter fishing techniques by a fire.1 It is the trip for anyone who wants to come home knowing how it is done, and it takes nobody under ten.

If the day should work anyway

The other trip collects you from your hotel, dresses you in thermal clothing and fishes with a rod each before crossing to the owners’ island, where two reindeer wait and lunch is served by the fire.2 The company says it is a good trip even for someone not keen on fishing, and a quiet morning on the ice does not spoil it.

If you want to drive

The same company adds an hour of fishing to its snowmobile safari on request, so a group can drive to Lake Inari and fish on the way to lunch.3 For a trip for your party alone, see private ice fishing in Ivalo.

Tours you can book

Questions people ask

What bait is used?

On the reindeer and lunch trip, a worm or a maggot on your own rod, in what the company calls true Lappish style. The fisherman's trip introduces several winter fishing techniques and includes all the gear, but its listing does not name the bait. Neither asks you to bring anything but warm clothes, and one of them lends those too.

Do we need a fishing permit?

Not usually. In Finland, fishing through the ice with a single rod costs nothing and needs no fisheries management fee. The exceptions are rapids and running sections of waters with migratory fish, and places that need a permit of their own, so ask the guide whether the spot is one of them.

Can we eat what we catch?

The trips do not promise that. The reindeer and lunch trip serves a lunch of local reindeer or fish made in advance, with a vegetarian option, rather than cooking the morning's catch. Ask the fisherman whether you can take your fish home, and bring a bag if the answer is yes.

Written by

Lapland Handbook Staff

Lapland Handbook is written by its editorial staff in Rovaniemi. Every price, age limit and group size in a comparison is read from the operator's own page and marked "Not stated" when the operator does not publish it. Each guide names who should not book, and names the operator that suits each kind of group, whichever it is.

More about Lapland Handbook →