Jigging in the springtime was a favourite activity in the old days. People would often do it together as a family or even in groups of families. You could jig for lake trout and the fresh fish was a welcome break from a winter diet of dry meat and dry fish. To jig for fish you need to cut a hole in the ice big enough to pull out a large trout-maybe 15 to 20 centimetres in diameter. If it's windy you can protect yourself from the wind by building a wall of snow blocks. If it's very sunny, you can use three spruce poles to make a tripod around which you can pull a tarp to make a wind-proof and shady shelter. The shade helps you see down the hole.

In the old days they used bone hooks at the end of a line made from sinew. They would lower the line through the hole, and then 'jig' it-pulling it sharply up and letting it sink slowly back down. This really attracted the fish and by jigging rhythmically for hours you could catch many fish on a good day. People also set hooks this way for loche. Loche like to eat scraps and live at the bottom of the lake. Instead of jigging, they baited their hook with a piece of meat, lowered it to the bottom, and left it still for several hours. If they were lucky a loche would come and swallow the hook. Loche livers are very rich and are considered a delicacy!