CTFishTalk.com: Stratton Brook State Park 02/10 - Connecticut Ice Fishing Reports ( CT Ice Fishing Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

I hadn't gone fishing in a week, so I headed over to Stratton Brook State Park to get my fix. jonnyfly00 (aka Jon aka Shelly) had fished the small pond with the swimming beach on it during the week and found several short largemouth bass and one keeper. It was freakin' cold, in the low 20s, but there was just a slight breeze and full sun. However, the temperature quickly fell to 19 degrees after the sun went down. After slogging over and through the crusty snow, I got on the ice at about 3:30 pm. Although I had picked up a dozen medium to small shiners, I had forgotten to pick up any maggots, waxworms, mealworms or mousies, so my plan was to just set five tip-ups and hope for the best. The ice was covered with a mass of frozen slush. The total thickness of everything was 20 inches or more. And with my eight inch hand auger that's prone to binding up (I think the blades are set at too aggressive an angle), it was tough going. Jon showed up while I was drilling only my second hole. He was able to re-drill some of his six inch holes from earlier in the week, but the cold got to him well before it got to me. After we set our tip-ups, we each jigged with a dead minnow head; mine was fresh and his was preserved. We stayed until about 6:00 pm, and didn't get a single nibble or flag. However, we each experienced painfully frozen fingers. Despite the lack of success, I was glad just to have gotten out there. But now I'm just a little bit scared of the cold again. Confused

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

Don't be afraid...you just need some warmer gloves.