As I head off to a private fish fry here in Red Deer, it has brought me to think of the many fishing trips and fish fries I have had back home in the Northwest Territories.
There, the fish are plentiful with northern freshwater breeds such as the inconnu, lake trout, northern pike, walleye, grayling and my favorite, Lake Whitefish.
My hometown of Hay River is known internationally for the quality fish brought in by commercial fishermen and the families known for the fishing industry: Buckley, Morn, Nault, Sinclair, and the Carters. If commercial fishing in the north was a movie, the biggest and most formidable character would be the lake itself: Great Slave Lake. It would be like the bull in a bull rider’s career; one never really knows but studies it as best one could.
The comparison of commercial fishing is very similar to ranching. You are at the mercy of Nature. I believe that the stewardship of the lake is similar to that of the land, we care for it, we respect it, we depend on it. The lake itself is one of the deepest freshwater lakes in North America, second largest lake in Canadian borders, and the fifth largest in North America. There are many statistics to share but that is not what makes it so great.
The greatness of it is from the abundance of energy it continually creates.
The fishing is one of the biggest draws for fishermen around the world bringing families to experience a lake that seems untouched unlike some of the holiday destinations of British Columbia.
The Great Slave Lake will test you but bring you epic rewards.
The sights of stone islands created and sheared off by the glaciers are to be experienced at least once in a person’s lifetime.
To imagine the force that once raged over the rock is almost incomprehensible and after a day of fishing, if you were to lay on the rounded rock, it was as though you were at a spa with a perfectly etched out heated stone just for you.
Many people are attracted to the vastness of the land and water, a place that seems like an entry point for Morgaine in Mists of Avalon with the magic of the land and the perils written in history are your entry point into your own untouched adventure.
The area that is one of my favorite with my family is the East Arm of the lake.
It will require a steel deep hull boat to carry you through the maze of islands. Locals know that fiberglass boats may not make it through that part of the lake.
Don’t get me wrong, many people from Yellowknife will take day or weekend trips with their sail boats or fancy fiberglass boats but to really experience the might of the lake and its beauty, you must take the week long voyage up to Snowdrift, now known as Lutsel K’e.
The land and water will obviously ground you but also keep you humble and respectful.
It makes me think of John F. Kennedy’s affinity to the ocean and his quote, “We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea, whether it is to sail or to watch – we are going back from whence we came.” Although the lake is obviously not the ocean but it is a place that once we return, we find our humble beginnings.
Sharlyn Carter lives in Red Deer, and she is a foodie with a gypsy soul. You can find more on social media and the web as Market Gypsy.