Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (June 07/02) - Northern fishing is a topic near and dear to Fran Hurcomb's heart.

For more than 20 years she has been capturing the art of net fishing on Great Slave Lake through a 35 millimetre lens.

Britta Nault and Kathleen Smith, seen here in a 1996 photograph, inspired Fran Hurcomb's children's book titled 'One Lucky Fish.' - photo courtesy of Fran Hurcomb

"I've spent a lot of time fishing and around people who fish," she said.

Hurcomb has taken hundreds of fishing photos all over the Northwest Territories, but her camera will remain focused on the captivating beauty and awe of Great Slave Lake for many years to come.

Hurcomb shared about 80 fishing photographs with a small crowd at the Wildcat Cafe last week.

"Oh, I'm just giving a little slide show," she sighed.

And what a slide show it was. There were quite a few familiar faces to be seen in the show, such as well-known local fishermen Johnny Nault, Douglas Freezie, Jonas Johnson, Walter Bird, Don Cardinal and Wilfred Smith.

"I actually got the slide show together a couple years ago for a kids book I wrote called 'One Lucky Fish' ... and that's when I discovered how many pictures I have about fish," she said.

Hurcomb has been a photographer for about 30 years.

"All my jobs are photography related. I do write as well but I would say photography is my main interest."

She enjoys capturing people in action on film rather than natural scenery.

"I tend to take a lot of outdoor pictures. People at work, people playing and dog teams are some things I've photographed quite a lot."

Hurcomb had a dog team for 20 years, which she says meant having to fish for 20 years. She lived in a shack in the Woodyard for quite some time and then moved to a houseboat. Now she lives in Willow Flats, where the Woodyard remains in plain view.

"That's where I met fishermen to begin with, in the Woodyard.

"Wilfred and all his cronies down there taught me how to fish and that's what got it all started really.

"I find fishing fascinating. It's amazing," she said.

From the reaction at the Wildcat last Thursday, the crowd found fishing pretty amazing too.

At one point during the slide show Hurcomb noted that the jigger was invented on Lake Winnipeg.

"A Canadian invention?" quipped a surprised member of the audience.

You learn something new every day!