CTFishTalk.com: West Side Pond 1/30/13 - Connecticut Ice Fishing Reports ( CT Ice Fishing Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

androux · Joined: 18 Dec 2012 Posts: 63

I'd never been to West Side (throw the hand sign, yo) and I probably picked the worst day to try to find it. Add to it that I talked a buddy from work to come out and spend an hour or so fishing after we punched out. He had never ice fished before and was a fair weather open fisherman at best (my argument was, "even a sally like you could come out on the hard water in 50 degrees). Yeah, he bit.

What I didn't expect was the fog. I know Tyler, and I knew Westie was on the back side of it, but when you can't see much more then then 30' in any direction, you'd be surprised how hard it is to find the road, let alone a lake. So after goading him to come out, I wandered down back roads until I slowly found the boat launch. Then the fun started.

The lake was even more fogged in then anywhere else, and feeling no rain, we embarked. We stomped out tom what looked like a fire pit (it was starting to feel like an eerie movie scene) and I drilled holes, setting up 4 tip ups and 2 jig holes. The first jig hole took about 20 min. to produce, but a keeper perch came out. The fog kind of ebbed and flowed as the wind picked up, and I figured the trout would be mobile before the cold front, but none of the tilts went off. I was about the start packing it in when I pulled up a nice 10" perch at the end. As stubborn as a I am, I waited for maybe another before packing up. Mmmm, mistake.

After I got my 4 tip ups in, it was (NO F-ING DUH) considerably darker and just as foggy as earlier, and I had a bit of a conundrum when it came to where I was parked. "Hmm, okay, I came in this way, and there is a faint light that way...." "Hmmm, that didn't work, okay find the road lights and fol....."

Yeah, don't wander in the fog. After looking and feeling like a bonehead, I retraced my holes and finally got my heading straight and made an authoritative stomp back to the boat launch.

Lesson Learned: Fish in the snow, not in the rain, and especially not in heavy fog.

btw...10" of black ice on the lake. I don't know if I've ever seen 10" that you can seen straight through before. Yeah, sorry for the story....
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

Loved the story! Laughing

I once pedaled my Hobie Pro Angler around Batterson Park Pond in circles on a windless day in whiteout fog. I was totallty creeped out, even though I really know Batterson Park Pond. I definitely know how you felt.
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androux · Joined: 18 Dec 2012 Posts: 63

Mmm, just wanted to update....

I cleaned both perch, the smaller one, eggs...but the 10'er, (and no fish story, prolly 11") but no eggs in it?!?!

I don't know the last perch that was that wide and long that wasn't carrying. I thought the females were bigger during the winter season.
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NWDarkcloud · Joined: 23 Apr 2012 Posts: 474

only thing I could add is when heading out into thick fog ....GPS app on phone...no app (low tec) like me pocket compass, A lession hard learned in Maine on big lakes when on sunny days its hard to get a bering let alone in fog.
Sounds like you had fun nobody hurt ....thats a winner in my book thanks for ice report
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