Two crooked black branches sticking forlornly out of an empty waste of wind-packed snow on one of Canada's many northern lakes are the only evidence of a multi-million dollar Canadian winter industry. They mark the ends of a 50-fathom gill net (set four feet down under the ice) and the beginning of an industry that last year in Manitoba alone produced 15,000,000 pounds of delicious-eating freshwater fish. Commercial winter fishing in Manitoba's three big lakes is a growing business. The fresh-caught fish are sped by air to distant and growing markets in newly-developed insulated boxes that eliminate the need for ice. The fishermen are frequently summer-time farmers picking up extra dollars during the long winter months, but there are a number of year-round operators who make a steady living by fishing. Besides a net and some form of transportation, the most essential piece of equipment is a "jigger". This simple, home-made gadget was invented back in 1912 by a tired blacksmith who had spent a long day punching holes at 10-foot intervals in order to set his nets. The jigger scoots under the ice, worked by a trailing line, making it possible to set a 50-fathom net in just three minutes.