Commercial season takes a turn for the better
Mike Bryant
Northern News Services
Yellowknife (May 28/01) - Good weather and bountiful fish made last winter's commercial ice fishing season a relatively successful one.
According to Wallace Brown, zone manager for Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation, total catches over last winter surpassed the previous year by nearly 12 per cent.
"This winter was a good winter weather-wise and fishing-wise," said Brown.
"We started November 13th and went for 23 weeks up until April 18th. Catches were up overall."
By most accounts the winter ice fishing season of 1999/00 was a near disaster. Mild temperatures during freeze-up prevented most fishers from getting their nets onto Great Salve Lake until well into December.
To make matters worse that winter, a blizzard on Christmas Eve caused ice on the lake to break up and many fishers lost their nets and tubs as a result.
Last year, former zone manager Dave Bergunder called it the worst commercial ice fishing season in more than a decade.
Catches for all species last winter totalled 356,072 kilograms -- up 37,411 kilos from the previous winter. Whitefish accounted for 83 per cent of the total.
Marius McCallum, a fisherman out of Hay River, said when freeze-up begins it is important to get out on the ice as soon as possible.
"The best month is always December, part of November and most of December," McCallum said.
McCallum said his personal catch improved only marginally over the previous year.
"It was a little better," McCallum said. "Not too bad, not too great."
