Its just one net its a 5 1/2" mesh gillnet,its not hard you just need to get a string under the ice,by chopping holes close together enough for a long stcik with a floater tied on the end to be threaded through the holes and once you have them through all the way to the end hole you just tie the net on and pull the line and net back through, and to check it you just tie the line on the far end and pull the net out the other side and pull the sting to set it back..easy huh

My new fur shed at camp,when it is right side up :), is 10 x 12 x 8 high with wood heat.

Many years ago, when I decided to get trapping again after my boyhood adventures I had and interesting episode. I caught a mink and set up an apple box as a fur table just inside the door and proceeded to pelt that mink. My wife never haven seen a mink before was watching with interest. Yep, I hit the gland, first and last time for any pelting in the house.

Doesnt sound too bad at all, just couldnt figure it out since never seen it done. Someday in the future hopefully!

Here is the threading the line through the holes part, and the net on top of the ice.

Whats your target fish typically with that setup? I always heard of netting under the ice, just never knew how it was actually done.

we hope to catch Burbot,Sheefish,two kinds of Whitefish and Pike,if it was smaller mesh I would be catching Cisco

What is Sheefish comparable to in taste? Similar in flavor to Whitefish?

Yes Similar in taste but Shee are a bit better.. and are much larger.

Yukon those jiggers would be pretty easy to use on holes that far apart. I use to watch the guys on Great slave set their nets and was always amazed how they'd follow the tapping and find their line. Thousand year old technology and still working. I bet those ice cold fish are delicious.

Bushman you bet..those fish are ice cold and still flopping when I get them to the house.
the elders love to have fresh fish givin to them and its a great way to feed yourself all winter when grub is scarce.
as long as your carefull and dont let it freeze into the ice and check it regularly it will be catching fish till mid May when the ice goes out.

I watched guys out of thunder bay do this one year. Had a 50 fathom net strung under the ice, and just found the "tapping" and chopped a hole and there was the other end.

I have set nets under the ice, watched it done but am totally confused by what you guys are referring to as tapping? I have always seen both ends secured by poles like Jeff's pict shows. Please explain.

Well two days ago it was blowing so hard we had white caps in the bird bath. Now it's frozen solid!
Still can't get to the line. Really need to drop off traps to lighten the load in the skiff for the opener.

I think my the tapping they're talking about a jig that swims through the water as you pull on a line through the hole you put the tapper into the water through. With each pull and swim stroke it taps against the ice, and when you have it as far as you want you locate the tap and chop a hole through which you retrive the tapper and then pull the net through both holes...I think that's how it works, but if someone can explain it better please do!

I am also confused about the tapping thing.

here we use the pole with a floater tied on a short string just enough to let it pop up in next hole its looks like the bouy poping up in jaws.
we have strong current in the river so you need to put some english on it to hit the next hole with the floater.
the main line is attached to the floater and threaded under the ice to the next hole,when it pops up we just untie the string,pull the pole back out the way it came and retie the string on and thread it through to the next hole,once you have the whole string under,you can just tie one end of the net on and pull it under the ice using the main line and tie a pole on both ends and tie them to the support sticks frozen into the ice.

when checking the net just untie the far end from a pole making sure not to let it loose and tie the line off on the net and go back and feed the net out the hole on the other end,and simply pull on the line to set the net back under the ice
and retie your poles in place.

I was just on my way out to check the net ,but we are in a MAJOR STORM now and had to turn back
we are getting a good dump of snow.
here is a pic from last year.

I have done it like Jeff in the past but had a friend now deceased who had one of the tappers being talked about. The nice thing about them is you only have to drill 2 holes if I rememebr correctly. I only heard him talk about using it and he has been gone for several years.

yes, it swims out when you "jig it" and it doesn't come back, it catches on the bottom of the ice, so every "jig" of the rope, it goes further out. Saw guys running 50 fathom of line in a very short time, it is quite slick, I have never seen them for sale anywhere, but it seems the old time commercial underwater netters still have them around.

It would probably not work very well in the rivers with currents, but on Lake superior in Thunder Bay, it was amazing how well it worked.

I have seen this "jigging" board in action on Lake Superior. They are usually painted bright orange because sometimes you can spot them through the ice (depending on ice conditions). The other way to locate the board under the ice is to listen for the board hitting the bottom of the ice while someone is pulling the rope from the starting point. I will try to get a picture of one and post it. They can be made from a 2x8, and minimal hardware.

I know they will work on the sloughs in the river with little or no current were the whitefish and pike tend to hang here

My grandad emailed me this... Pretty cool!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=Z0qGvC3vqaA