Fishing in a Bar? Yes you can in the Igloo Ice Bar at Zippel Bay Resort

For those of you that have a tough time deciding whether to go to the bar or go fishing, well now you can have both. That’s right— fishing in a bar. On a recent trip to Lake of the Woods, Minnesota,

I had the chance to visit one of the coolest bars I’ve visited in quite a while, no pun intended. The Igloo Bar at Zippel Bay Resort gives fishermen and non fisherman the chance to do some ice fishing while enjoying a cocktail or a snack in a friendly environment. It looks like a giant igloo, but it’s warm and toasty inside. Guests can sit at table, pull open a trap door in the floorboards that exposes a hole in the ice, and drop a line down where toothy critters await. There are fishing rigs already set up over most of the holes, and they keep a fresh bucket of minnows handy for bait.

The Igloo Bar is the concept of Nick Painovich, owner of Zippel Bay Resort. Nick and his crew construct the bar on the ice every winter over prime reefs just outside their land-based fishing resort. The Igloo Bar, made of framed wood and foam insulation, is drug onto to the ice in 2 big sections then constructed to form the bar. “A few years ago we built an addition that gives guests additional seating,” explains Painovich. “We even have heated outhouses. We put heat in the women’s, and then all the guys complained so we heated that one too!” If you are near Lake of the Woods this winter, put the Igloo Bar on your “must-visit” list.

Zippel Bay Resort also offers great summer time fishing accommodations. For more information, go to their website at ZippelBay.com.

Check out the pix below…