Early Ice Pike

Over the course of two recent blustery days, good friends and I spent 24-hours targeting trophy pike through the ice. The lake, an old favorite of ours, locked up last week before the snowfall. By the time we walked on it, there was four-plus inches of black ice with a fresh coat of powder. This was still during what ice anglers term "first ice", but the weather pattern was far from ideal. A strong high pressure system had stalled over Connecticut and we were forced to deal with high winds and low temperatures. Our shelter and heater were worth their weight in gold for the two-day binge.

Ice fishing for pike is truly a waiting game, especially on notoriously stingy body of water like this one. Jigging for panfish on this particular lake isn't all that great either, so we usually kill time in between flags by keeping watch, cooking food, and the occasional swig brown booze.

When fishing with dead bait, if a flag goes up (and you have set your tip-up properly with any wind) you can almost rest assured that a fish was the culprit. So was the case with one of my traps on the first day of the excursion. The spool was spinning when I lifted it out of the hole and there was good weight on the other end as I set the hook. The pike ran at me twice and both times I thought had I lost it. This fish was well hooked though and wasn't coming off. After a good fight, my new personal best pike came through the hole, measuring 37-inches in length. It was not a trophy by any means, but a good fish worth a round of high fives.  After a few quick photos it was released to be caught again down the road. 

Five more pike between 30 and 33-inches were caught and released that day, but nothing really worth busting out the camera for. Still, six pike iced in one outing from this venue was an above average tally for us. With all that action, we should have guessed what we had coming to us the following day.

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

The alarm clock went off at 3 AM for the second consecutive morning, but there was no time to be sore from the previous day. After another hour-plus drive, we arrived at the lake and dragged our heavy sleds a half mile over snow before reaching camp. The sun had already poked over the hills by the time our traps were all in the water. The only significant change in weather conditions was a temperature drop. The wind stayed the same with gusts up to 30 MPH.

The bite on day two started on a good note then went south quick.  For our first flag, Derrick fought and landed a respectable fish around the ten pound mark. Then things slowed to a crawl with a few more flags interspersed over the long outing. Our theory was that the strong high pressure system put the pike into a very finicky mood. Many of our baits were just mouthed and dropped without much commitment. The same proved to be true for others sharing the ice with us that day. But, hey, that's pike fishing; we all knew what we were signing up for. 

It was a great two-day excursion with awesome company, fantastic wallpaper, a few eagle fly-overs, a new personal best, and many laughs. This was our first real deal ice experience of the season and nice test from Mother Nature. Without some of the gear we lugged out there, it would have been a lot less comfortable out there that's for sure. I think we block out the memories when we ice fished without a shelter. Now we park the thing in the middle of the lake and there are times it feels like you could be in your living room drinking scotch next to the fire.

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!

First Ice

A small pond in the northwest hills had about four inches of ice covering it. Knowing what this place could be like, expectations were not set all that high for our inaugural outing, but there was fishable ice and we were determined to get on it. Without many options for ice anglers in Connecticut, we knew this venue had the potential for a circus-like atmosphere. Sure enough there were six trucks already parked when we rolled up at 5 AM and another five anglers joined the melee shortly after, squeezing tip-ups in tight spots between groups already spread out. The pond resembled a mine field when the sun came up. 

The goal today was to shake the rust out from a long off season and have some fun doing it; catching any fish would be a bonus. Northern pike were our main target, as well as their main forage in this pond, golden pond shiners. While we didn't land either, a few others species showed up, including crappie, largemouth bass, bait-robbing pickerel, and some stunted yellow perch.

A low pressure system brought in some mixed precipitation, but we left before any uptick in action took place. The rising water levels and above-freezing temps ate away a decent amount of ice during our trip. I'm that ice or any ice in Connecticut will survive the weather over the next few days, but at least we'll have a fresh start when temperatures plummet again mid-week. There should be a few other venue options by the Holidays. In the mean time, it felt great to be back on ice and I'm looking forward to a productive winter.

Looking Back

As another year winds down, I thought it timely to revisit some memorable catches of the last 365 days. Highlights included checking off new species from my bucket list and gaining experience with new-to-me angling techniques. There were many firsts for me in 2009, including first walleye through the ice, first carp on the fly, first false albacore, and first sight-fished striped bass. I also had my first success while European nymphing, as well as good results while surf fishing in a wet suit. I am very fortunate to have seen and learned the things that I have this year. Here's to a great 2010!

Photo credit: Derrick Lambert

Photo credit: Aaron Swanson

Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick

Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick

Photo credit: Derrick Kirkpatrick

Photo credit: Dennis Yonan

Herring Time

A friend and I stopped by a harbor in western Long Island Sound today and secured a healthy amount of Atlantic herring for the upcoming hardwater season. A light-tackle rod and reel with a Sabiki rig is all that's needed to catch this forage fish, which venture each winter from the Atlantic Ocean to several river mouths along the Sound. The long, slender baits were vacuum-sealed and packed in the freezer for targeting targeting northern pike through the ice. The herring were perfect size, mostly 10-12 inches, and should be hard to resist while dangling under a tip-up in a trophy pike lake. For now, think cold!