Fishing the Bountiful Waters of Lake Winnipeg By Doreen Pendgracs
(article originally appeared in the 2009 Canadian Farmers' Almanac)

Enjoying a leisurely drive through the scenic lakeside community of Sandy Hook one lovely fall day, I came across a hand-painted roadside sign offering "fresh fish for sale." I'm no fool. I knew this was the home of a Lake Winnipeg fisherman. And what could be fresher, than fish caught on the very locale where it's cleaned and made ready for sale?

Was I in luck! I happened to drop into Kris Isfeld's fish cleaning shop right when he and his father, Ed Isfeld, were cleaning the day's catch. The pickerel were still jumping in the containers, and soon, they would be jumping right into my frying pan.

I was intrigued, as Iíve bought fish from several of the larger fishing operations scattered throughout Manitoba's Interlake Region, but have never had the privilege of having commercially-caught fish fresh filleted just for me.

Within about five minutes, Kris and his dad had two pounds of pickerel fillets cleaned, weighed and packaged for me to take home and cook up that night for supper. And was it a feast! Among the best pickerel we've ever tasted.

Pickerel is also known as Walleye (by our American neighbours to the south) and is a mild freshwater white fish that is tastiest fast fried in a little butter with lots of thinly sliced white onions, sprinkled with fresh parsley and the juice of fresh lemons. It is a local delicacy.

How lucky were are as Manitobans to have easy access to such a delicacy - no matter where you live in the province - thanks to the network put in place by the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation (located in Winnipeg.) "The large majority of our catch is sold to the Freshwater Fish Marketing Corporation," says Kris. "It operates like a cooperative and is run by a board of directors chosen by each province they represent, as well as a federal appointee."

As a former commercial fisherman himself, Kris's dad, Ed, is on the board representing Manitoba. There are also similar representatives from Saskatchewan, Alberta and the Northwest Territories. "Most fishermen deliver their fish to agents who in turn have the fish picked up by the marketing corporation," says Kris. "There is a receiving depot in (the nearby city of) Selkirk, so we deliver our fish there every second day."

Kris tells me there are three distinct seasons for commercial fishing on Lake Winnipeg. "The spring season begins sometime in May (after at least 80 per cent of the fish have finished spawning) and will run until the second week of July. The lake is then closed to commercial fishing for the summer as the warm temperature of the water affects the quality of the fish. Our fall season runs from September 1st until October 30th and the winter season begins as soon as it's safe to go on the ice and runs until March 31st."

If you're in the area of Lake Winnipeg once it has frozen over, you may see Kris and other fishermen out in their Bombardiers, massive slow-moving vehicles that move along the ice on revolving chain-clad tires."Ours is a bright blue 1955 model," says Kris. "The Bombardier is what most commercial fishermen use in the area to fish in winter."

Fishing the bountiful waters of Lake Winnipeg is an age-old year-round tradition that began with the Aboriginal peoples and was then adopted by the Icelandic immigrants who came to Canada and settled the Gimli area back in 1875 -- now affectionately known as New Iceland as the region is home to more Icelanders (outside of Iceland) than any other place on the planet.

You can learn much about the history and traditions of the Icelandic settlers by visiting the New Iceland Heritage Museum in Gimli, a community of about 2,000 permanent residents that does a wonderful job blending the heritage of the past with the trendiness of a vibrant lakeside summer resort.

Occupying a massive surface area that stretches across 24,390 square kilometres, Lake Winnipeg is Manitoba's largest lake. It is also the sixth largest in the country and the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world, with plenty of beaches and an abundance of fish that have attracted generations of fishermen - both hobbyists and commercial operators such as the Isfelds.

There are now approximately 1,000 commercial fishermen who fish its waters, with about 100 of those operating out of the south basin of Lake Winnipeg in the Gimli/Winnipeg Beach area, where I found Kris Isfeld.

"You can only get a commercial license in the area in which you live," says Kris. "The Grindstone Point Line is the divider on Lake Winnipeg. In the north basin, you mainly have Aboriginal fishermen. Their primary catch is whitefish, which is sold as whole fish and usually used for baking. In the south basin where I fish, our primary catch is pickerel, which is sold in a filleted form."

Another very popular fish caught commercially in the south basin of Lake Winnipeg is the Manitoba Goldeye (the fish after which the provinceís professional baseball team is named.) Goldeye are smaller than pickerel and generally sold whole (rather than filleted) and freshly smoked. They are coveted as a tasty summertime treat.

What type of boat is used to haul in the succulent catch? Kris uses a 20-foot yawl. "It's a long, narrow uncovered boat made of fiberglass," he says. And to catch the fish, he sets up 16-18 gill nets made of a plastic film. Each net is 80-100 yards long and 12 feet deep. "The more fish we find out there, the fewer nets we will need, as theyíre so plentiful we donít have to try as hard to catch them."

Many of the fishermen are like Kris, and come from multi-generational fishing families. "My Dad's father, Oli, was a fisherman. My Dad was a fisherman. I think he would have preferred that I do something else, but he made the mistake of taking me fishing when I wasnít in school and I fell in love with it," says Kris. "It's in my blood, and nothing Iíve tried as alternative occupations has come close to giving me the rush that I get from fishing. It's gambling for a living, and for many of us ... ... that's a real draw."

Now in his late 30's, Kris has been fishing commercially for more than 17 years. "Going fishing versus fishing for a living isnít really all that different," says Kris. "You never know what you're going to catch in a day. It's very variable, day by day. The weather determines what we do. Even though we're our own bosses, we generally start our day very early in order to beat the weather. It's usually calmest in the early morning."

Kris acknowledges the difficulty in making a living as a fisherman. "Some years are profitable, but if it wasn't for my wife (who is a teacher in Gimli), I doubt if we could survive on the fishing income alone."


Doreen Pendgracs happily lives in Matlock, Manitoba - just a 10-minute drive from the Isfeld's fishing operation in Sandy Hook.