Ice fishing a 'really good tradition' to pass on to other immigrants, newcomer says
When Kenneth Tse first came to Canada 20 years ago, he didn't expect to be ice fishing, let alone enjoy it.
Fast forward to 2019 and Tse, who is a science teacher by day, now introduces other newcomers to Canada by teaching them how to ice fish — like Stefano Marastoni and his son Andrea Marastoni who came to Canada from Italy five years ago.
Tse came to Canada from Hong Kong when he was 10. He discovered the winter past-time when his dad's friend took him fishing years ago.
"I thought it would be nice to pay back and give the opportunity to new Canadians to fish because I had that opportunity," Tse told CBC Toronto.
"When you say 'Canada,' a lot of people think it's cold. One of the images they think about aside from dog sledding, is ice fishing. It's a really good tradition to keep on, to get the kids outdoors, even adults."
Marastoni says it's not readily possible to ice fish in Italy. So when he came to Canada, he says, he was drawn to try the activity.
"This is a kind of fishing that we always watch on TV and it's something that we always wanted to do," said Marastoni.
Tse says he hopes that once newcomers learn how to ice fish, they will pass that tradition on to other new Canadians as well.
