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Ice fishing in Utsjoki: four trips to the fell lakes

A lone angler towing a sled across a wide frozen lake, with a line of forest on the far shore

Illustration photo: an angler on lake ice, not in Utsjoki.

Lapland Handbook Staff How we research this

The short answer

Book with the village company that says the permit is included if you want no loose ends, or with the holiday village if you have children, because it is the only seller that prints a child fare in euros. A group of four adults free on a Thursday pays the least. If you are staying in Karigasniemi, the hotel there runs its own trip and saves you the drive.

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.

Travel UtsjokiHoliday Village ValleHotel GuossiValle Thursday excursion
Adult price €180 €125 €120 €90 – the lowest adult price
Child price 30% off under 12, by its terms €65 (under 12) Not stated €45
Duration 2 h 2–3 h 3 h 3 h
Minimum group 2, by its terms 2 adults 2 4 adults
Meal Wilderness lunch Hot drink Not stated Picnic lunch
Permit included Yes – the price says it covers the fishing permit Not stated Not stated Not stated
Starts from Pick-up within 5 km of the village Holiday village, Utsjoki Hotel, Karigasniemi Holiday village, Utsjoki

Highlighted figures are the best in that row: the lowest adult price and the price says it covers the fishing permit. The village company's own shop prints its price without saying whether it is per person; the other three print per adult. The holiday village sells a second fell-lake trip, three hours at 185 euros, under the same heading as its two-to-three-hour one.

Where these figures come from
  • Travel Utsjoki: Two hours by snowmobile sleigh to a fell lake from the village, with a wilderness lunch, clothing and helmet, and the permit stated as included.
  • Holiday Village Valle: Two to three hours at a small fell lake by snowmobile sleigh, with a hot drink by the fire, for two adults or more.
  • Hotel Guossi: About three hours at a lake near Karigasniemi, by car or snowmobile, with overalls lent and the catch cooked in the hotel restaurant.
  • Valle Thursday excursion: Three hours by sleigh to a wilderness lake with a stop to feed reindeer, snowshoes and a picnic lunch, on Thursdays for four adults or more.

Ice fishing in Utsjoki starts with a ride. The lakes worth fishing are out on the fells, and every trip sold here gets you there by snowmobile sleigh or car.

What you are fishing for

Arctic char, from small lakes in the wilderness. The village company describes the method plainly: a sleigh behind a snowmobile to the lake, a hole drilled in the ice, and a special rod and bait for the char, with the permit already in the price.1

Three companies, three corners

The village company collects you from your accommodation. The holiday village runs its trips from its own site on the Teno and is the only seller that prints what a child pays.2 The hotel in Karigasniemi, at the other end of the municipality, runs a three-hour trip for two to seven people and will cook the catch for you afterwards.3

The cheapest way to go

The holiday village’s Thursday excursion costs the least per adult, runs for three hours and adds a stop with the reindeer on the way. The catch is the group size: it runs only for four adults or more.

Ice fishing is one of several things the Utsjoki destination page covers, and the evenings out under the sky are on northern lights in Utsjoki.

Tours you can book

Priced per person

Price not stated

Questions people ask

Is the fishing permit included?

On one trip in writing. The village company says all fishing permits and licences are always included in its tour prices. The holiday village and the Karigasniemi hotel list the equipment, the clothing and the transport, and say nothing about permits either way. If the permit matters to you, and on a guided trip it is the guide's job, ask those two to confirm it before you pay.

When in the winter can we go?

The village company's trip page gives December to May, depending on snow and ice, while its fishing page says January to late April, so check your date with it. The Karigasniemi hotel runs its trip from December to April and calls it off below minus 24, adding that January there often drops below minus 25. The holiday village takes bookings until six the evening before.

Can we keep what we catch?

The village company says it eats the fish it catches and releases fish only when the stock needs it. The Karigasniemi hotel offers to prepare your catch as a starter in its restaurant. The holiday village's pages say nothing about the catch. Neither the fish nor a catch is promised by anyone, and all three describe the char as the hope rather than the certainty.

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.

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