Bob Goes Fishing for ICE (The Canadian Kind)

Bob headed out to the lake with his fishing rod, a bucket, and a plan that made perfect sense to him and almost no one else.

He was going fishing for ICE.

Now, Bob knows the word ICE means different things to different people. Some hear it and think of agents, paperwork, badges, and serious conversations. Bob hears it and thinks of frozen lakes, cracked surfaces, and ice cubes that clink politely in a bucket.

Still, Bob figured it was best to be prepared.

The bucket was clearly labelled ICE, just in case anyone walked by and wondered what kind of operation was happening on the lake. No uniforms. No radios. Just Bob in a winter jacket, holding a fishing rod, standing over a hole in the ice.

If any ICE agents were involved, they were clearly undercover.

Bob dropped his line into the hole and waited. Fishing for ice takes patience, awareness, and the ability to explain yourself if questioned. The lake was quiet. Too quiet. Exactly the kind of place an ice agent might be hiding—if ice agents were made of frozen water and lived in lakes.

Then came the pull.

Bob lifted the rod slowly and out came a dripping chunk of ice, fresh from the lake, melting slightly as it hit the air. Bob examined it carefully.

No badge.

No sunglasses.

Definitely ice.

Into the bucket it went.

Bob kept fishing, pulling up more ice “agents,” each one slightly different. Some were chunky. Some were thin. Some looked like they had been working undercover for years, frozen into layers of bubbles and cracks.

Bob photographed everything. The hole. The ice. The bucket filling up. Because if you’re going to be questioned later, you might as well have photos.

A passerby might have thought Bob was running some kind of frozen surveillance operation. In reality, Bob was doing what he does best—turning a simple idea into a story by standing still long enough to notice it.

When the bucket was full, Bob packed up and left the lake exactly as he found it. No agents detained. No borders crossed. Just ice returned briefly to the surface before heading home with Bob.

Some people worry about ICE agents.

Some people avoid them.

Bob fishes for them—

as long as they’re frozen, melt quietly, and look good in photos.