Early Ice Esox

What an impressive winter we're in the midst of. Connecticut hasn't experienced one this cold since 2017. Ice anglers can fish just about anywhere their hearts desire in the Nutmeg State. The deep snow and slush conditions haven't made things easy, yet there are stellar hardwater options for those willing to put in the effort and brave the elements.

Before we started measuring ice thickness in feet, I got in two pike trips on two different lakes. The common thread between the outings was frontal systems bringing in fresh snow. Both days produced a handful of northerns—nothing giant, but a solid way to kick-off what's looking like a lengthy season. 

Deeper water options have since been filling my cup, though I'd like to do an excursion for pre-spawn trophy esox before all of this ice fades away. 

Snowed In

I am growing a little stir crazy from not fishing for nearly two weeks. What I have been doing is working, tying trout flies, and shoveling crazy amounts of snow. A weekend ice fishing bender is in the works, so hopefully I'll have some fish porn to share soon instead of snow and fly pattern photos. 

White Stuff

Trout flies flew off the vise yesterday, but only after digging out cars, sidewalks and driveways from nearly 20 inches of snow. The Farmer's Almanac predicted it to be very cold and dry this winter. At least they got the cold part. I hope I don't sound like I'm complaining yet, I'll save that for this weekend I am pulling a sled-full of ice fishing gear through two feet of powder. 

Putting Time In

A friend and I spent the last day of 2009 on a favorite frozen body of water. We were after Northern pike again and we were not alone. Our vehicle was the sixth in the lot at 5 AM, yet we still managed to put ourselves in good position on a flat where a river pours in. The anglers that we shared the ice with were not rookies. We have seen their trucks numerous times before and have seen plenty of photos of their trophy pike. 

Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick

A fishy low pressure system gave us confidence in our approach, but our dead baits went unmolested all day hovering off bottom in eight to ten feet of water. A nine hour outing and not one flag--a bitter reminder of how ice fishing for pike can be like watching paint dry. One group mustered a decent pike as we were picking up and another landed a surprise four-pound brown trout, which most likely ventured in the lake from one of its tributaries. It was still a slow day considering the storm front and sheer amount of baits in the water, but, as the saying goes, a tough day of fishing beats a good day at work. It was nice eating hot food in the confines of our shelter and it's always good to connect with other anglers that share the same passion.  

Snowy Solstice

The winter solstice came in with a bang last night, bringing with it a storm that dumped more than a foot of snow here and over 20-inches just to our east. This storm had a 15:1 ratio, meaning that for every inch of rain it would've produced, it pumped out 15-inches of snow. It was a good old fashioned New England snow storm and during the heaviest of it three inches of white stuff came down per hour. The shoreline took the full brunt of this one, so the northwest hills of Connecticut, where I do most of my ice fishing, will be relatively snow-free and still easy to access. Ice anglers must take extra caution checking ice conditions after a fresh snowfall, as it can cover up holes and sketchy patches. Be careful out there and have fun!