Today, my friend Janna and I were invited to go ice fishing with our friend Fredrica. Fred grew up here, and was more than happy to take us out for the day. We all packed into the car, and drove on the frozen Kuskokwim River for more than 30 minutes, to the Johnson River. It was a nice Sunday afternoon. Not to windy, or cold. It was 10 below zero, with light winds. Fred kept trying to scare Janna by saying she did not know where she was going. I just laughed because I know the people here know the river like the back of their hand.
When we reached the Johnson, it was still early, so there were not many people out yet. Most of the holes have already been started, we just had to cut through a thin layer of ice since everything freezes almost instantly here in the winter. Fred handed Janna and I a large ice pick to start working on the holes. I work out, but let me tell you, picking at the ice is tough!
After the holes are ready, we bait our hooks. Ice fishing does not require any special equipment. The "rod" is a wooden stick or dowel about 2 feet long, with rope tied around it. The bait is black fish, which is a small fish about 3 times the size of a sardine. We had to tear a piece of the black fish, place it on the hook then drop the line into the hole. Oh yeah, there were some weights on the line to keep it in the water. Anyway, all you do is jig off the bottom of the river, and wait for a bite. Once you feel a bite, just pull! You will have a nice pike fish on the end of your line. Fred just laughed as Janna and I took pictures of each other with our first pike fish.
Janna and I were getting pretty good at this ice fishing, and after an hour or so, we had a nice pile. Since it was so cold, the pike would freeze almost instantly. It was pretty cool. Janna and I would get cold, so every hour we would hop back into the car to warm up. I have learned a lot from the Natives here, and the thing I have been most impressed with, is how much the share with one another. Fred had prepared a huge lunch for all of us. We had sandwiches and dried salmon strips. It was so tasty. Janna and I did not drink anything the entire time we were out there because there are of course no bathrooms on the river, and Janna and I were not about to "drop trou" in the freezing wind. Another thing I learned is that many elders do not hunt or fish, and rely on family and the community to take care of them. So, Fred would not let us leave until we had enough fish to share with her parents. And we still had to fillet them before she would give them to her parents. I was amazed.
After a full day fishing, it was back to Fred's house to fillet the fish. In the Native communities, women do all of the fish cutting. Men will not help with this task. So, we had 185 pike fish we had to get through. Since Janna and I were new to this, Fred showed us how to properly cut the fish so they can be hung outside to dry. You must first wipe all the slime off (that was pretty gross, I will admit), then cut down the back, remove the outsides without cutting the fish in half, then cut a hole near the tail for it to hang. Fred quickly cut through the fish, as we struggled. It is a ton of work. The last picture is what the fillet fish look like as they are hung outside to dry. They will stay outside to dry for a few weeks, until they are ready. Fred said we could come over for some dried pike in a few weeks. I'm excited to try it.
After a long day ice fishing, I was ready to go home and take a long shower. I wonder how long my hands will smell like fish......
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