CTFishTalk.com: Winchester Lake - Connecticut Ice Fishing Reports ( CT Ice Fishing Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi,

Met Phil and Kira at Winchester lake around 12:45.

Fishing was thumbs down

Except for Phil who caught some fish.

Kira -> So glad to see you Woman -> been a while!

SeaDog1

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

How thick was the ice?

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

Hey, Derek! We fished only within 100 yards of the boat launch ramp on the south end of the lake and found nine inches of ice pretty much everywhere that we checked. It'll be good for a while. Got that, Noob? Very Happy

TurtleKiss (aka Kira) and I got on the ice around 9:15 am. The weather in the morning was absolutely gorgeous. We enjoyed full sun and almost no wind. I actually had to take off my coat and fur hat. Kira likes to watch flags, but not jig, so we set up eight traps along the east shore. We put shiners and a few whole sardines in 10 to 18 feet of water. After we got the traps set up, I started jigging with my waxie baited fluorescent green perch Hali jig. I started in 18 feet of water and worked my way toward the shallows. I went as shallow as five feet, but didn't get any hits. After almost two hours, I decided to move to the southeast corner of the lake. In 12 feet of water, I began jigging up the water column and finally got a hit at about eight feet. It was just a nine inch yellow perch, but after two hours of nothing, whoo hoo!

After a couple of more yellow perch, I noticed that we had a flag. Kira was busy playing with my underwater video camera, so I ran over to the flag. The line was still spooling, but we had rigged the traps with quick strike rigs, so I set the hook. I knew right away it was a smaller fish and not a big northern pike that had taken the shiner. As I pulled in the line, I hoped that it was a largemouth bass but, unfortunately, it was just a slimy little 13 inch chain pickerel:

I left Kira to reset the trap and went back to jigging in the corner. After a couple of more yellow perch, I jigged up a little sunny:

After Stephen showed up and was getting his gear out of his truck, we got another flag on a trap we had set in the corner of the lake. Once again, Kira was playing with the video camera, so I ran over to the trap. The line wasn't spooling, but I yelled to Kira to see whether she wanted to pull it up. She wasn't inclined to hurry over, so I set the hook and pulled up a little 13 inch northern pike that looked like it was choking on the shiner:

After Stephen got back out onto the ice with his gear, the sky clouded over, snow began to fall and the wind rose. After the weather turned, so did the bite, which died completely. I got only two more yellow perch and one more sunny before we got off of the ice at 3:45 pm. Here's a photo of my monster sunny:

Yeah, that's Kira and Stephen in the distance. I think that I took the photo right before he took off his pants. Shocked

In the end, I jigged up seven yellow perch and two sunnies, and Kira and I got the one chain pickerel and one northern pike on our traps. Unfortunately, Stephen caught the skunk. Lake Winchester wasn't very kind to us today. Crying or Very sad

However, I guess that I'm a glutton for punishment, because I can't wait to get back out there again. Very Happy

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

Hey, at least you were catching some. I need to catch me a fish Very Happy

slim2043 · Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Posts: 446 Location: Plainville CT

9 inches

There is significantly less ice around my area... Might have to take a NW hike this weekend and see if we can catch somethin'
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Never give up!