By midwinter, Great Slave Lake wears ice thick enough to drive a truck on, over water that runs 614 metres deep, the deepest in North America. Locals have pulled trout and whitefish through holes in that ice for generations. Two trips let you do the same, one ending with your catch cooked for lunch on the spot, the other run by a 100% Indigenous-owned crew with the stories to match.
Checked with Thomas Beaulieu, Yellowknife guide & northern lights specialist
What is ice fishing like in Yellowknife?
You ride out onto frozen Great Slave Lake, drop a line through a drilled hole, and fish for lake trout, whitefish and pike from a heated hut or the open ice, with all gear provided. Trips run three and a half to four hours in winter, roughly January to mid-April, and both tours here include hotel pickup. One thing is on you: the NWT sport fishing licence, mandatory and not included, around CA$15.
The heated-hut tour that cooks your catch
The half-day classic. You fish from warm huts (or jig outside if the day is kind), the guides pull a net the traditional way, and then lunch happens: fresh fish, cleaned and cooked right there on the ice. Reviewers consistently call the shore lunch the best part. If a fish story with photos sounds like your kind of souvenir, read our morning pulling trout through the ice first.
Badge of Excellence · lunch included
Best for the full experience: heated huts, net pulling, and your catch cooked for lunch on the ice
Ultimate Ice Fishing with Lunch (about 3.5 hours)
4.5across 72 Viator reviews
Heated huts or open-air jigging on Great Slave Lake, rods and bait included, with a net-pull option the guides run
Lunch is your group's wild catch, cleaned and cooked on site
Hotel pickup or meet at Chateau Nova; free cancellation up to 24 hours before. NWT fishing licence (about CA$15) required, not included
Live price on the listing shown for your date and currency at booking
Opens the operator's official listing, where the live price and open times for your date are shown.
The Indigenous-run traditional fishing tour
North Star Adventures is 100% Indigenous-owned and runs its fishing the way the Akaitcho Dene territory has always fished: as food, story and land at once. Four hours, a maximum of ten guests, a traditional fish meal with fresh bannock, and guides telling their own people's stories rather than reciting someone else's. This one books directly with the operator, and we earn nothing on it; it is here because it belongs here.
100% Indigenous-owned · books direct
Best for the cultural version: fishing the traditional way with Dene guides, small group of ten
Sport Fishing & Indigenous Culture Tour (4 hours)
Booked on the operator's own site (no platform rating to quote)
Daily 10:30am to 2:30pm, January 15 to April 15, minimum 4 and maximum 10 guests, leisurely pace
All fishing gear, hotel or B&B transfer, traditional fish meal, fresh bannock and Indigenous stories included
From CA$249 per person on the operator's site; NWT sport fishing licence required and not included
From CA$249 current price on the operator's own page
A direct link to the operator, not an affiliate link: we earn nothing if you book this one. Details from northstaradventures.ca, their own page.
Which ice fishing trip fits you?
Both fish the same lake in the same season. The choice is lunch-on-the-ice convenience against the smaller, culture-first group.
Ultimate Ice Fishing (Viator)
North Star traditional tour (direct)
Rating
4.5 · 72 Viator reviews
No platform listing (books direct)
Duration
~3.5 h
4 h (10:30-2:30 daily)
Season
Winter ice season
Jan 15 - Apr 15
Group
Up to 16
4 to 10
Food
Your catch cooked on the ice
Traditional fish meal + bannock
Character
Heated huts, net pull, convenience
Dene-run, story-first
Licence
Required, ~CA$15 extra
Required, extra
The licence is a genuine legal requirement on both trips, sold separately; budget for it. Fishing pairs well with an early-night aurora tour, since it ends mid-afternoon. If you are curious what swims under the ice, the lake holds lake trout, whitefish, northern pike and burbot.
Ice fishing questions
Do I need a fishing licence for an ice fishing tour in Yellowknife?
Yes. An NWT sport fishing licence is mandatory on every fishing trip, guided or not, and the tours do not include it. It costs roughly CA$15 for the short-term visitor version and the operators tell you where to buy it before the trip. Skipping it risks a real fine.
Is the ice actually safe to stand on?
In season, yes, and by a wide margin: Great Slave Lake ice grows thick enough by midwinter that the territory runs a public ice road across it to Dettah, typically from late December to mid-April. Operators fish established areas and check conditions daily; the season simply does not start until the ice is ready.
Will we actually catch fish?
Usually, but no honest guide guarantees it: this is fishing, not shopping. The lake's stocks of trout, whitefish and pike are strong, guides know the spots, and the Viator tour's lunch plan depends on catches happening regularly, which tells you something. Cold snaps can slow the bite.
Can kids come ice fishing?
Yes, both trips are family-friendly at a leisurely pace, and the heated huts make the Viator version the easier pick with younger children. Dress children a full layer warmer than adults; they lose heat faster standing on ice.
About these picks
Written by Thomas Beaulieu, a Yellowknife-based guide. Details come from the Viator listing and North Star's own site respectively, licence rule included, and the no-commission status of the North Star link is stated right on the card. We earn a disclosed commission only on the Viator booking, at no extra cost to you.
Put a line through the deepest lake in North America
Heated huts, wild fish for lunch, and ice you could land a plane on. Live dates and prices are on the official listing.
