Eyelashes freeze in this air and the snow sits on the trees like a thick confection. As the torch caravan rounded the top of Lake Superior yesterday, the surroundings left little doubt that winter is well under way. But just off the road, out on the ice, another season is just beginning.
From his fly shop on Highway 17, Adrian Hoke watched the torch go by. The shop was still a bit quiet, but in the next few weeks the smattering of wooden ice fishing huts here on Havilland Bay on Lake Superior will multiply into its own village with as many as 200 toasty shacks. In this area about 40 kilometres north of Sault Ste. Marie, there is a whole population that spends every weekend, every free moment, peering into a pancake-sized hole in search of food - and bragging rights.
THE PLACE
Good fishermen know how to judge the safety of the ice - they have to. Last year, Mr. Hoke said, a man who was new to the area took a wrong turn on his snowmobile and sank through thin ice. He was lucky to escape with his life - though the machine is still somewhere on the bottom of the bay. "If I've learned one thing, it's that you don't mess with Superior," Mr. Hoke said. "She's cruel."
The best ice is black, strong and firm. Good fishermen are wary of clear or white-ish surfaces. About 200 metres from shore, the ice was strong enough yesterday for the red wood hut that belongs to Bruce Irving. Each winter, Mr. Irving takes his axe and chops into the ice to judge whether it will support the 1,000-pound structure.
Ice fishing doesn't take much depth - between three and 12 feet of water below the ice is ideal, Mr. Hoke said, though some will put their huts further out, fishing more than twice that depth.
THE TOOLS
Just beyond Mr. Irving's hut, Adam Eisler and his buddy Aaron Towell drilled neat holes using a spiral auger with a handle like a square S to make turning it by hand easier. They broke through the foot of ice within 30 seconds and a small spurt of clear water burbled over the sides onto the snow at their feet. For thicker ice, they'll often use power augers.
Ice fishing rods are not like the summery canoe-fishing type - they're delicate, no longer than your arm and as slim as a reed at the thinnest end, with a handle about as thick as a marker. Because they're lightweight, it's easier to see the rod move when it snags something under the ice.
The two men kept a careful eye on the rods propped up on their toolboxes. If a steelhead comes barrelling through - they swim like torpedoes - it can knock the lure and drag the whole thing down the hole in one swoop.
THE PROCESS
Technology has changed ice fishing. Inside the hut, Mr. Irving's eyes were glued to a little monitor labelled "FISH TV." An underwater camera lets him watch what's going on down below. He's only been using it for a year, but said it's a great tool. "The camera's key."
Fishermen who do it the old-fashioned way have to be patient, and focused. This area is known for whitefish, which bite very gently, so without a camera a fisherman might have trouble detecting it and moving the lure to snag the catch.
Most fishermen use wasp larvae impaled on a tiny hook - if they can trick the fish into thinking those larvae are a favourite grub emerging from the silt, they just may bite.
THE PEOPLE
Because the season is just beginning, Mr. Eisler hasn't put up his own hut yet, but was still out fishing yesterday, even in the air that froze sparkling droplets on his goatee as he breathed. "We'll be out until we can't stand it any more," he said.
Mr. Irving is teaching his kids to fish, too: he often brings his four-year-old daughter along with him. Jen Madsen, a friend who came by Mr. Irving's hut to say hello before setting up her line, hopes more people will pass the hobby on to their daughters. "I'm usually the only girl out here," she said.
Mr. Irving's happiest moments are when he's the only one out here - period. On Saturday, he walked onto the ice at 6 a.m. and stayed there for 13 hours. He went home to sleep, and came out again yesterday morning.
"It's like an itch I get," he said. "My old lady doesn't like it. I spend most of my time out here. There's some people that fish, and some that live to fish," Mr. Irving said.
"I live to fish."
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LIGHT BRIGADE
DAYS 66, 67 & 68
Sault Ste. Marie
Marathon
Thunder Bay
Dryden
Kenora
Steinbach
Winnipeg
Globe and Mail journalists will follow the Olympic Torch Relay every step of the way, painting a compelling portrait of Canada as they go.