Jigging Arctic Style

The shoreline of the North West Passage (NWP) is alive these days with Inuit drying their winter char. The char are moving out of the lakes and into the salt water of the NWP. Here they feast on the shrimp and young Tommy cod and gain a third of their weight. In the meantime the char had to pass from the lakes, down the flowing rivers to the sea.

On their journey downstream they encounter scores of people jigging through the ice or in open leads. In years past, the Inuit used a small attractive object on a string made of animal guts to attract the char. Once the char come close they were captured by the skillful use of a special spear.When cutting through the ice you encounter nine feet of new ice which proves to be a challenge.

The result is worth the effort when you are rewarded with a 10 lb. char. Today a few people use the traditional method to catch their fish as many converted to using nets. One day I was driving along the NWP on my atv and came upon the commissioner of the NWT beginning to pull a net. She was late in her sixties and about a hundred lbs but she was skillful and mighty. Her husband John was present and was ready to launch id 20 foot open boat to release the end of the net.

They had done this for years and new every move to accommodate the task. Two minutes were needed to release the net and Helen and I pulled the net as john came ashore and helped. The net was full of lovely char and we counted 59 fish averaging 8 lbs. Quickly they were placed far from the shore as they could return to the water in one flip.

Cutting the fish was a traditional womens task and with an ulu one Inuit women could make quick work of that number of fish. I asked if I could help and Helen showed me the skill of the use of an ulu. Ulu means woman's knife but I never hesitated in using it from that day on.The fish are cut down the back and boned, leaving the fish joined at the tail so they might be hung to dry. In less than an hour the task was complete and Helen probably did more than half and John and I the rest.

Helen told me of the old days when fish failed to come that way and John would have to set out to find Char or starve. John was known for his ability to find char and animals using his traditional knowledge. He laughed when he said his best friend in finding the fish was the seal because they could see underwater. He laughed but was serious. The seal follows the char.

After tea and a pilot biscuit with jam I left John and Helen after being given four fish - all ready to be eaten. For the rest of my time in the Arctic I took every opportunity to learn from the Inuit and became a successful hunter and fisherman because of the acquired skills. For all the fun I had, none was more endearing to me than jigging for char.