CTFishTalk.com: Black Pond 02/03 - Connecticut Ice Fishing Reports ( CT Ice Fishing Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

This morning, I told asianfisher (aka Billy) that I needed to drag my butt out of the house, today. Quite frankly, I was a little bit afraid of the cold. He suggested Black Pond, so I drove over to his place and off we went. The air temperature was in the 20s, but it was mostly sunny. Although the forecast was for wind in the low teens, it never blew more than seven or eight miles per hour. All in all, it was a beautiful day. The driveway down to the boat launch from the top of the hill wasn't plowed. There were a couple of deep ruts in the snow from vehicles, but they were covered by the recent snow and freezing rain. Luckily, there was a man on a tractor at the top of the driveway who cleared enough of the snow and ice for several cars to park up there. Billy and I loaded up with our gear and headed down the driveway. We could see one fisherman already jigging on the ice off of the launch:

As we approached the parking area at the bottom of the driveway, we passed a snowed in SUV. Shocked

We got onto the ice just before 12:00 pm and stopped to talk with the other fisherman. Hey, Doug! Doug was so enthusiastic about jigging for trout in the area near the launch that we scrapped our plan to slog across the pond and set up parallel to the shore next to him. There was 10 inches of ice under crusty, frozen slush of varying depths, from three to eight inches. We could walk on the crust, but fell through it every once in a while. The snow under the ice was saturated with water in the vicinity of any holes, but we stayed pretty dry. Drilling holes with an eight inch hand auger is hard work:

But when your tip-ups are finally all set and baited, it's a beautiful thing:

At 12:30 pm, Doug yelled that he had a fish on and pulled up a pretty rainbow trout:

He was jigging a fluorescent micro jig baited with a waxworm, with a weight on the line about six inches above the jig. He jigged it within 12 inches of the bottom in about eight feet of water. Doug had to take off soon after he landed the trout, but definitely had a spring in his step after avoiding the skunk. At about 1:00 pm, Billy spotted a flag on my farthest tip-up and I ran over to it. I set the hook with a firm tug and reeled in a 15 inch chain pickerel, which was my first ever tip-up fish. Hopefully, Billy got a decent cellphone photo of it. We kept jigging, but with no action. Just before 1:30 pm, I decided to try the hole from which Doug had pulled the rainbow and got one of my own:

Like Doug, I was jigging a fluorescent micro jig baited with a waxworm within 12 inches of the bottom, but I didn't have any weight on the line. The fish was only 10 inches long, so I released it. But when I realized that trout season is almost over, I had a bad case of releaser's remorse. Luckily, I landed an 11 incher just a little while later. Pan fried in brown butter, with just a little bit of sea salt, it was dee-licious! Very Happy

Billy's Uncle Johnny showed up at about 4:15 pm. Right after he got onto the ice, I jigged up a couple of sunnies. And shortly after that, Billy got off the skunk and landed a nice little rainbow trout of his own. I had to leave the ice before 5:00 pm, so I packed up my tip-ups and climbed up to my car. I'm not going to be able to fish for the next few days, so today's action really hit the spot. Like Billy says, you gotta drag your butt out onto the ice and just fish it.
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

Looks like you guys had a good day out.

Ha-Ha! -> Releasers Remores Exclamation

That's a good one since all trout in Ct. is pretty much "Put and Take" Exclamation

If it wasn't for the fact that my smoker is buried under snow -> I'd have smoked them for the Super Bowl Exclamation

-> YUMMY

SeaDog1

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice job guys! Looks delicious, Phil!

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Here you go Phil..... Sorry for the delay...... And Yes you smashed me this day.....

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

nice, i want to try deeper for some of those holdover browns some day

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Trolling in spring works great and late summer early fall.... In there...

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Hey, Billy, besides the rainbow, what'd you get after I left?
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asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Bunch of sunnies and one more trout.... great right before dark...... Flight was good i take it?

Bluegill Terminator · Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Plainville

Phil are those heritage laker tip ups? And a clam ice armour bib and jacket combo? Man you went all out on the ice fishing gear best of the best! If those are heritage tip ups they will last you a life time.
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TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

Go Go Power Rangers!
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

hey phil, got a question, i saw some of your kayak pics in the other threads and was wondering if you could suggest any good fishing yaks' in the 300-600$ range. I only have experience with the sit on top style and i do like them but was looking into getting one of my own, rod holders and possibly a fish finder mountable unit??? thanks in advance!

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Pete - Yes, that's what I got.

Dan - I'll send you a PM.

I love the size of the Heritage Laker tip-ups, but I'm having a problem with them. There's a drag system, but even when I have it totally off (i.e., with the nuts loosened), the spools don't always turn freely. I think that they're binding up on their axles/spindles. I haven't had a chance to take a closer look at them, but does anyone have any suggestions about how to fix this?
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

You may need to get some of that specially made cold temp grease and lubricate the spindles.

SeaDog1

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Dan - For some reason, I couldn't send you a PM.

When we finally get open water, you'd be welcome to paddle/pedal any/all of my kayaks to get a feel for what you'd like. Don't underestimate the impact of comfort on your kayak fishing experience. My best paddler is a Hurricane Santee 116 Sport, but I have it rigged for fishing. At 11-1/2 feet, it's not a very long kayak, but it's perfect for small rivers like Bantam River. And the seat is very comfortable. I got it on sale at EMS for $720. I picked up a Wilderness Systems Ride 135 from Connecticut Outfitters at the end of the season last year. It's a real fishing kayak and stable enough that you can stand up on it while fishing. It was a little pricier, though, at $1,020. If I could have only one kayak for fishing, I'd seriously consider getting a Wilderness Systems Pungo 120. EMS carries them and they usually cost more than $600, but if you're lucky you might be able to find a great deal on one.
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asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Phil got you covered for trout.... although wasnt to bad of a day there.... Well go somewhere else...