Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 9:04 pm Post subject: Countryside Park - Upper Pond 03/07
I wasn't planning to go fishing today because of the wind, but jonnyfly00 (aka Jon) got me off my butt, out of the house and down to the upper pond at Countryside Park with a text message this afternoon. I really just went to check the conditions. When I arrived, I saw that most of the snow that had surrounded the pond is gone:
Although the ice at the edges of the pond had cracked, it was still solid and hard enough for ice skating:
Surprisingly, although it was windy, the north wind was still manageable. I sent a text to Jon to let him know that I had decided to fish the pond and headed home to get my gear. I got back on the ice just after 2:30 pm and drilled a hole in the middle of the pond toward the covered bridge and spillway on the south end. It took 31 cranks of my new six inch StrikeMaster Lazer auger, so the ice is still plenty thick. The second time that I dropped my waxworm baited gold micro jig hook to the bottom, I got a hit from and landed a yellow perch:
By 3:00 pm, I had landed a couple of sunnies and another perch. Here's my current method for jigging panfish:
1) Load a micro jig with as many waxies and/or spikes as you can;
2) Drop the baited jig to the bottom;
3) Take the slack out of your fishing line, but be careful to not pull the jig off of the bottom;
4) Twitch the jig lightly from time to time; and
5) Pull up a fish.
Seriously, it works. I don't think that a jig is even necessary, You just need a hook that can get your bait to the bottom. When Jon showed up at 3:30 pm, the bite died for 45 minutes. But it picked up again during the next 45 minutes, when I jigged up six more sunnies and two more yellow perch. I had to leave the ice for 30 minutes to drive my daughter to her karate class, and picked up some hot chocolate for me and Jon from McDonalds before heading back to the pond. While I was gone, although Jon hadn't gotten any fish on his tip-ups, he had jigged up a pretty little eight inch brook trout with a live-lined shiner on the north end of the pond, close to where Hawley Brook flows into it. I jigged for another 30 minutes and landed another sunny before we began packing up Jon's tip-ups in the falling darkness. I'm already looking forward to jigging again tomorrow. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Congrats. Nice trout. Looks wild to me. _________________ I Love My Fishing And NASCAR. But When There Is ICE On The Pond Bet Your Britches I Will Be There.
Bassin In The Summer Perchin In The Winter Mr. Green
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 11:38 pm Post subject:
Stephen - Sorry, I had a flashback to my wife's consulting days, when she worked with a guy named Stephan. He's European, so it's pronounced stePHAN. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Tue Mar 08, 2011 12:00 am Post subject:
I don't know about that, Dan. Like Flipper (aka Damian) said, right now the northern pike are as big and fat as they're going to be all year. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
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He's European, so it's pronounced stePHAN.
