These texts are extracted from records.

Elijah Kawapit talks about the fishes.

The first three kinds of fish I’ll tell you about are white fish, white sucker and red sucker. These three kinds of fish are called  bidhan-maguuch (SEmQ&Yr%)The white fish are eating in a  different area from the red suckers and the white suckers. The underwater where there’s sand at the bottom is called yakawamishgoo (PRnNQH*r) that’s where the white fish like to eat and they like eating the grass that grow underwater. The muskrat likes to eat these too. Where the white fish eat that’s where they like to be spawning too, they are spawning in the month of October and sometimes during the winter in the month of December. When they’re spawning during the winter we say biboon-amuuch (Sw&Qy%) and where the water current is and sometimes around the lakeshore or the Islands.

The red suckers and the white suckers do the same thing, they are spawning in areas where they like to eat . But they eat mud and the areas they’re spawning are at the water current ( QSHtJ%, QIGnA%, FP QAPDnNQFHnA% FP JNPJre& NqrSDJ% NIFN:R&p! QSHtK%).

The red suckers are spawning only in the spring, not in the winter. In the cold weather, all the fish travel less as it gets colder. During the middle of summer the fish travel everywhere in the lake and other areas. The white fish, white suckers and the red suckers stay floating in groups somewhere.

Sometimes it happens the fishing is poor during the winter in the lake, even when the fishing was good in that same area in the summer. Sometimes when the winter fishing is good, this means you’ve hit the spot where the fish have been floating in one place. At times only the white fish would be caught in the winter fishing net, same thing with the red suckers or the white suckers.

According to the shape of a lake when the water flows to that direction, on the side of the lake where the north wind comes from, we say dibinogamgan ( DNSuNRHR&). In the old days that’s where people liked ice fishing ( by a net ) on that side of the lake, where the north wind comes from. They said that’s where the fish ( bidhan-maguuch, SEQ&Yr%) stay floating. Also where the lake is narrow. If these fish are known to be a good catch, that’s where the ice fishing (by a net) was usually done. Where they stay floating that’s usually where they float during the winter, knowing that is a good place for them to eat.

In the past when people are out on the land, the( bidhan-maguuch, SEQ&Yr%) were used as bait for fish hook. But when there’s no bait available, people use to travel where they knew fishing was good in the winter. The fish baits (gooschayuuch, r*TNp%) were collected and stored for later use. In the summer the fish spread all over the place and in the spring they go to where there’s an opening in the water.
The other kind of fish like the lake trout, pike, speckled trout and burbot. Their behavior is different from the other fish. The lake trout and the speckled trout are spawning at the end of September, the pike are spawning in the spring. For the burbot they’re spawning during the winter in the month of February, these three kinds of fish are spawning at different times.

The lake trout and the speckled trout like to be spawning in a water current, the speckled trout like to be where the rapids are. The lake trout like to spawn in a lake, usually in a rocky area. The pike  spawn in the spring, where it’s grassy in a  shallow water and in a slightly water current.

After the lake trout has been spawning, they go in the deep water, This we say ( niidamuuch JE^y%)  All kinds of fish do that after they’re done spawning, they go into the deeper water. The  burbot like to spawn in the water current, their eggs are in bigger amounts in the fall reason. During the months of December and January that’s when they’re spawning. The fish that have been spawning in the fall, they begin to produce their eggs again. Those that are spawning in the spring, their eggs are in a good condition during the middle of winter.

When fishing by hooks in the winter, the lake trout are biting in some areas only. In the area where they’re biting we call this spot. ( gooskipuu r*Fw) As I have mentioned before where the fishing ( net ) is good in the winter, we say ( bikqua-yebananuu SnNR:WUNu)

The burbot like to be where the river is and are usually biting at the water current, that’s where fishing (by a hook ) is done knowing they’re biting at that spot.

In the past during the time fish was the main source of food, people were carefully exploring the water currents and the depth of the lakes. The area where the water is pretty shallow, we call this (meywaadimeuu HnNPDHNp) that’s where people liked to fish in the winter or in the summer.

In the summer a person would look underwater while paddling in the canoe, to see where the fish are eating. It’s clear to see where they have been eating, because the area looks like there are many hollows in the sand. That’s how a person knew there were fish in that lake, if he wasn’t familiar with it. Where the fish have been eating we say (atwaa-kidumuch QE!FeY%).

Sometimes when someone sees that the otter has been eating fish, that’s how he knows there are fish in that area. When otter has been eating the fish ( bidhan- maguu SE&Yr) someone still knows what kind of fish he ate by detecting the fish scales, even if the otter ate everything. That’s how it’s known if the fishing is good in that lake.