Family tradition
Annual cold-weather activity runs deep for many families in Lower Bedeque
LOWER BEDEQUE – Smelt shacks and the silhouettes of anglers huddled around open holes dotted the frozen shoreline of Lower Bedeque on Saturday afternoon.
Ken Myers and Audrey Durkee were among those perched over the 12-inch-thick ice on the Northumberland Strait, patiently waiting with oatmeal and tinned tuna meat as bait for the elusive smelt, a small silvery-coloured fish.
“I got hooked into smelt fishing with my grandfather back when I was seven years old. I would come down for the day with him. We would sit inside a heated shack, not too far from here, and enjoy the serene frozen landscape, away from the demands and distractions of everyday life,” said Myers, who continues the tradition 55 years later.
“It is a relaxing pastime. There are no distractions, phones, demands, only the wide-open sea. That is the part I enjoy.”
In the background, a soft tune cracked through a portable radio, and the warmth of a wood-burning furnace blanketed the inside of the shelter.
“I moved to the Island three years ago and got into smelt fishing because of Ken (Myers),” said Durkee, while peering into the narrow hole and jiggling a rod with a spear placed by her side for a fish that would hopefully be their dinner for later.
“I am an outdoor person, so the first time I went smelt fishing was exhilarating."
Fisheries and Oceans Canada sets the catch limit of smelt to 60 per person per day.
The couple goes once a week, although Myers said after retirement, there would be more time.
A few shacks away on the same stretch of frozen water, 16-year-old Kaden Macinnis, with bated breath, dipped his jig into the water creating a vertical motion to lure smelt.
“For Christmas, I wanted a smelt shack, and then last year for my 15th birthday I got this as a gift,” he motioned to the blue shelter that he built with his uncle, aunt and cousin.
“I am different because most kids want an iPod, but I wanted to ice fish," he said.
After school, he walks from his nearby home and to his shack across the frozen stretch.
"On the weekends, my dad often wakes me to go fishing," he said, adding he does not eat the fish, which are no bigger than a hand, but passes his catch to family members for a meal.
The winter fishing season started in Lower Bedeque on Jan. 1, said Myers.
All fishing holes are clearly marked after usage to prevent the danger of falling in.
"We will probably be fishing here until the start of March."