Gone fishin’
It’s no fish story: Rawennakarere Giasson (pictured) really did catch that pike, one of the many kids from the community to have had a good day out on the frozen water last weekend as part of ice fishing camps given by Kirby Joe Diabo and his team. Courtesy REEL UM IN bait shop
This year’s consistently cold winter has been a boon for all sorts of winter activities, and ice fishing has been no exception.
“In the years past, we’ve only been able to get out here the second week or maybe the third week of January, and then you’d get about five or six weeks out here, but we got out week one of January this year. It’s been good,” said Kirby Joe Diabo, who owns the Reel UM IN bait shop in town.
This year, Diabo has been organizing daylong ice fishing camps for youth in the community for the first time, after having organized fishing outings in the warmer months to great success.
Since ice fishing cabins are already out on the water being rented out by Diabo at this time of year, everything was already in place to go fish.
All that was missing was the kids, and the fish - and neither disappointed during the first two camp days last weekend, with more than a dozen kids participating and almost all of them catching something.
“It was crazy, they were hot. We caught a lot of pike, walleyes, and they had a lot of fun,” said Diabo.
The kids learn how to do everything from scratch: finding a spot, making the hole with the ice drill, cleaning the hole, setting the line, baiting the line, using the SONAR that detects where and when fish pass and at what depth, and knowing how to tell when something is hooked on or not.
“It’s doing the work, understanding that there’s not always a prize at the end. Sometimes you end up with nothing, but you’re always learning,” said Diabo.
The kids are learning life skills, but they are also learning about their culture.
“This is a part of who we are, that we live by the water. We’ve always used our resources, and we want to try to show these kids what we have and how to take advantage of it,” said Diabo.
Rawennakarere Giasson caught the first fish on Sunday, a pike almost as long as his shoulders are wide.
His mother, Tekahonthakwa Beauvais, said he was ecstatic to share his experiences with her when he got home later that day.
“He can’t wait to cook and eat it! And he’s hoping to be able to do it again next weekend,” said Beauvais.
It was Giasson’s second time ice fishing, and he said he would do it every day if he could.
“It’s super fun and a good learning experience for the young ones,” said his mother, who would recommend the camp to anyone interested.
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There are two more camps coming this weekend, Diabo said, plus some more days with larger groups.
That being said, the demand has been huge, and he’s still getting calls to participate - so much so that he’s thinking of holding even more camps during the rest of winter.
Those a little older can also register for the ice fishing competition taking place this Sunday as part of the Winter Carnival.
