Ice-fishing

Here's a unique experience: going fishing on the ice with Inuit friends...

Do you want to join us? Are you ready?

Alright! Here's what you need:

The help of persons like Johnny and Minnie,
who are experts in ice-fishing in the area


Skidoos and a Qamutik (traditional trailer made of wood)


Look for the right spot to fish


Dig a hole (Johnny in action)


Take a breath


Believe me, it's a physical activity :)


Scoop the chunks of broken ice out of the hole


Get your fishing gear out of your Qamutik (stick, string and hook)


Animate your hook by shaking it up and down,
and make sure you see the fish as soon as it bites.
Minnie is NOT sleeping, she's just looking through the fishing hole.
Johnny prefers to stand up.


Time for tea. This hole is very convenient...

A marvel of technology.
Hundred times smarter than the cellular phone or the space shuttle.
Use this ice-jigger to place a net under the ice.
A big thank you to Daniel and Davidee (Hunter Support team of Inukjuak),
who explained to me how it works.

Here's the secret to efficient ice-jiggin':
1) Dig a hole in the ice (see above)
2) Put the ice-jigger into the hole and lay it flat on the water
3) Pull the blue string, the green metal bar will push up the beige wood bar
4) Beige bar will bite into the ice and let the orange board move forward
5) Release the blue string, the green metal bar will sink, whereas the beige wood bar will float
6) Repeat steps 3 to 5 until you get far enough
7) The board is bright orange, so it's very visible when it's under the ice
8) Dig another hole close to where you "drove" the ice-jigger
9) Get your net under the ice, from hole 1 to hole 2
10) Repeat this operation if you'd like to place other nets
11) Wait, have a rest, eat, have fun, go for a walk, go back home...
12) Come back and get your net(s) full of fish out of the hole


Take a closer look: see those 2 metallic blades on top of the jigger?
Their function is to help the jigger move in a straight direction,
without touching the ice.

So... Honestly...
Do you STILL think your cool'n fancy Web-enabled cell phone
with color display, camera and polyphonic ringtones
is the smartest device on earth????

Copyright © Eric Poncet