It’s a country with nearly 3,000 lakes and no shortage of hardy outdoorsy nutters to drill holes in them. The place is generously stocked with people who seem to be — and I can’t put it more gently than this — crazy.
In March 2004, a two-square- kilometre slab of ice broke away from the Lithuanian coast and floated off into the Curonian Lagoon, carrying about 200 people who were happily fishing. When a helicopter arrived to rescue them, they shooed it away. Some had to be “rescued by force”, as a local newspaper put it.
Last year, brother and sister Arvydas and Diana Gaiciunai spent 63.5 hours inside a block of ice the size of a telephone box. In their underwear. They beat a record set in 2000 by the magician David Blaine.
To be fair, not every ice-fishing fan will smile at you with cheeks full of maggots or wave away rescue helicopters, but those who are not so completely crazy are at least a little bit quirky. They’ll be out there slipping around trying to find the right spot before the sun comes up, then setting up a little camp, drilling a hole in the ice and settling in for the day.
A basic camp consists of a little wooden milking stool. More luxurious versions consist of chairs with wind shelters around them. Even a gentle breeze across a frozen lake wants to shear your nose off, so any wind protection is a good idea. You will also need an ice drill to make the hole in the ice, and either a short little rod- and-reel setup (there is kit designed specifically for ice-fishing) or a simple hand line. Of course, warm clothing is a must, and it’s a good idea to take along a Thermos for warm drinks. And vodka.
POSSIBLY BECAUSE it is a tad crazy, and foreigners are not automatically assumed to be hardy or mad enough to try it, there is not a lot of help for tourists who want to try ice-fishing in Lithuania. If you do want a go, however, all you really have to do is cobble together a bit of kit and clomp out onto the ice. You can probably get away with borrowing the ice drill.
One popular spot for ice-fishing is Lake Galve in the Trakai region, about 18 miles from Vilnius. The advantage here is that there is a pretty fairy-tale castle set on a small island in the middle of the lake, giving you a postcard-perfect setting. The disadvantage is hinted at by the name of the lake, Galve, which means “head” in Lithuanian. Legend has it that the lake must claim one head each season, as a sort of sacrifice.
It’s hard to get over the innate fear of walking on ice. It just feels wrong, in the same way that walking up glass stairs feels wrong. To guarantee your safety (although “guarantee” might be a bit of a strong word here), it’s best to look for locals out on the ice, fishing, walking, or doing anything other than suddenly disappearing. If you look down as you walk and see a startled frozen face sliding by beneath you, assume the sacrifice has already been made by someone else this season — and see if you can relax a little.
Relaxing, after all, is what it’s all about. Possibly the only thing more peaceful than sitting on a frozen lake peering into a little hole would be sitting by the edge of a frozen lake watching other people peering into little holes. In fact, this might be the best way to enjoy ice-fishing in Lithuania. It’s certainly the safest.
Getting there: British Airways (0870 850 9850, www.ba.com), AirBaltic (0870 6072 7727, www.airbaltic.com) and LAL (01293 579900, www.lal.lt) fly from Gatwick to Vilnius, with fares from £91.
Where to stay: the Apia hotel (00 370-5212 3426, www.apia.lt) has rooms in the heart of Vilnius without heart-stopping prices — about £56 for a double. Litinterp (5212 3850, www.litinterp.lt) is the expert when it comes to B&B-style accommodation, with doubles from £20.
Fishing: the ice should be about 7cm (3in) thick to be safe, which limits the season for sane people to the period from now until mid-March. The lakes at Trakai are a £10 taxi ride from Vilnius. Fishing gear can be purchased from a shop called Romado (Mindaugo Street 14B, 5260 3539), which is opposite a supermarket that sells vodka.
A serious set of kit will cost about £80, including boots and safety gear, but you can get away with less if you have no intention of taking it seriously. If it all sounds like too much bother, Active Holidays (6872 1847, www.activeholidays.lt) organises trips for groups.
- Andrew Quested is editor of the In Your Pocket guidebooks to Lithuania (www.inyourpocket.com)
