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Winter Ice Camping Overnight in -12 Degrees

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Mav and his crew pitched a shelter on bare lake ice and dared the thermometer to drop to -12 degrees Celsius overnight — all for a shot at walleye.

Outdoor creator Mavrik Joos, known to his audience simply as Mav, didn’t settle for a day trip on the ice. In “Winter Ice Camping Overnight in -12 Degrees for Walleye,” he and his companions hauled their gear onto the frozen surface of a lake, drilled their holes, and committed to staying through the night as the temperature bottomed out at -12 degrees Celsius. The video trades scripted survival tips for a real-time log of what actually happens when you sleep on ice and fish through the dark.

• Mav’s group set up camp directly on the frozen lake surface rather than the shoreline, fishing through drilled ice holes for walleye.
• Overnight air temperatures hit -12 degrees Celsius, forcing the crew to manage shelter, warmth, and gear all while staying put on the ice.
• The overnight sit paid off — the group landed several walleye before the trip wrapped.

Setting Up Camp on the Ice Itself

Most winter camping trips keep the tent on solid ground and treat the ice as a fishing destination, not a bedroom. Mav’s crew skipped that separation entirely, pitching their shelter right on top of the frozen lake so they could drill, fish, and sleep in the same footprint. That decision cuts down on the back-and-forth between camp and holes, but it also means every gust, every temperature drop, and every creak of the ice is happening directly under the sleeping bags.

The setup shown in the video mirrors the logic behind other cold-exposure builds documented on the channel — shelter first, heat management second, and no room for guesswork once the sun goes down. Viewers who’ve followed similar overnight tests, like the solo overnight sandbag shelter build in the woods, will recognize the same pattern: get the structure right before the temperature makes the decision for you.

Fishing Through the Night for Walleye

The actual target of the trip was walleye, and the group worked multiple drilled holes through the overnight stretch rather than fishing a single window at dawn or dusk. Walleye are notorious for feeding heavier in low light, which made the extended overnight sit — uncomfortable as it was — a deliberate tactical choice rather than just a stunt for the camera.

Camp on the ice, fish through the night, and let -12 degrees decide how bad you actually want the walleye.

That patience showed results. According to the video, the crew successfully pulled several walleye up through the ice over the course of the night, validating the discomfort of staying out rather than packing in and heading for a warm truck cab.

Managing the Cold Through the Night

Staying functional at -12 degrees Celsius on open ice comes down to a handful of unforgiving basics: layering, staying dry, and keeping extremities warm enough to still tie knots and bait hooks. The video follows the group through those exact pressure points — the moments where cold hands slow everyone down and where the shelter has to actually hold heat rather than just block wind.

It’s the same cold-weather calculus that shows up across other winter overnight content, including builds like the cattail down jacket solo overnight, where insulation and moisture control make or break the night. On open ice, with no tree cover and wind able to move freely across the lake, those margins get even thinner.

The whole trip lands on a simple trade: sleep rough on the ice at -12 degrees, or sleep warm on shore and miss the overnight walleye bite entirely. Mav’s crew took the cold, and the fish they hauled up through those drilled holes were the receipt.