Best ice fishing in Kemijärvi: one pick for each kind of angler
Illustration photo: anglers on a frozen lake, not in Kemijärvi.
The short answer
For a first try with children, fish the resort's own lake: two hours, licences, gear and clothing included, and a child fare. For the cheapest short outing with transport, take the platform trip. If fishing is the point, book the resort's five-hour day with a professional fisherman and a campfire lunch. For two to four people who want the evening and a chance of the aurora, the local company's evening trip by a fire fits best.
Kemijärvi sells more ice fishing than the one trip on the booking platform, and the trips are built for different anglers.
A first try, with children
The resort’s own lake trip lasts two hours on the lake next to the resort, with licences, rods, outdoor clothing and a warm drink in the price, and a child fare.1 It runs for a minimum of two adults.
The cheapest short outing
The trip on the booking platform is the least expensive of the four, with a pickup in town; what its two hours include is set out on its own page, linked below.
When fishing is the point
From January to 20 April the resort sends a professional fisherman out for five hours, with a sledge ride to the hole and bread heated on a campfire for lunch.2 It needs four to eight adults, which makes it a trip for a group of keen anglers.
A small group after dark
A local company’s evening trip takes up to four people per booking, fishes by a fire and, on a clear night, may show you the aurora.3
The platform trip on its own is described on ice fishing in Kemijärvi.
Tours you can book
Two hours of ice fishing on the lake beside the resort, licences included
Run by Jauri Resort
From €83per person
Length2 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)Evening ice fishing by a campfire, up to four people per booking
Run by Lappi Creative
From €100per person
Length2.5 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)Five hours on the ice with a professional fisherman, lunch by a fire
Run by Jauri Resort
From €232per person
Length5 h
See it on the operator’s site(opens in a new tab)
Questions people ask
Is there a professional fishing trip before Christmas?
Yes, a shorter one. The resort sells two and a half to three hours with a professional fisherman in November and December, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings or afternoons, for 150 euros a person, with the same minimum of four adults. The five-hour day with the campfire lunch runs from January to 20 April. Before the new year that shorter trip is the serious option.
What will we catch?
None of the trips promises a catch, and none of the pages names a species for the Kemijärvi lakes. The platform trip and the resort both call it an experience rather than a haul. If a particular fish matters to you, ask the professional fisherman's trip what the lake holds at the time you plan to go, since that is the trip built around fishing seriously.
Do we need a fishing licence of our own?
Not on the resort's lake trip, whose price includes fishing licences. The other pages do not mention licences. Finland lets anyone ice fish with a single rod without paying the national fishing fee, except in rapids on migratory-fish waters and places with their own permits, so on a still lake the question is mainly whether the water needs a local permit; ask the company.