We decided to join him, even though Derek had to be home early. He had never been to Breakneck and we figured that this might be our last chance to head out there on the ice this season. When we arrived at Bigelow Hollow State Park just after 9:00 am, Ian was already there in the small parking area that was cleared in front of Bigelow Pond. He was with one of his IceShanty fishing buddies, Jigging John (aka John). The parking area at the trailhead to Breakneck hasn't been plowed, so we had to hike in from there. We loaded up and, heigh ho, heigh ho, off to Breakneck we, er, went. We took our time getting to the pond. We hit the trailhead at 9:30 am and got on the ice shortly before 10:30 am. Here's Ian at the trailhead:
When we arrived at the pond, we saw that one group of several fishermen was already set up on the ice in the middle and were building a HUGE bonfire. The thing was five feet high. As we hiked past them, we asked whether they had gotten anything on their 20 or so tip-ups and they said, no, the bite was off. We stopped just north of them and set 12 tip-ups along the eastern shore, across the width of the pond and along where the shallows drop off on the western shore. If you''ve been to Breakneck before, we were next to the big boulders on the eastern shore where people apparently build smoky fires that leave soot on the boulders. We drilled more than 20 holes in the area and began jigging in the open ones. Ian and John started with Kodiak jigs baited with spikes and mousies. Derek had a perch eye jig baited with an artificial Celsius bug and I had a gold micro jig that's painted white with a black dot on the hook side baited with waxies. We jigged between our tip-ups from the east shore to the west shore and got nothing. Since we had brought two six inch Mora hand augers and one four inch Nils hand auger with us, we decided to start drilling more holes and prospecting for fish. We went up the east shore to where a creek trickles into the pond. Almost immediately after I dropped my jig into the water near the creek, I thought I felt a nibble and my waxie was gone. I re-baited and dropped my jig back down, and got another nibble and another lost waxie. Now I was certain that I was feeding a small fish and on my third or fourth waxie, I got it:
Sorry for the sideways video. I'm still trying to figure out my new Verizon iPhone. Although the waxie worked, I experimented and tried baiting my jig with a spike, a mousie and one of Derek's artificial bugs, but only when I put another waxie on did I catch another small sunny. Derek got a couple of nibbles on a mousie and on a waxie, and John had a couple of tugs on a live lined shiner, but we didn't get any other fish near the creek. We decided to hike further up the pond toward the point of the island in the center of the pond and drill some holes there. But the pond got pretty shallow and the ice went from a solid 16 to 20 inch layer to a two or three layer mess. After several crooked holes in super shallow stained water, we gave up on the island and headed back down toward the creek. We didn't get a single flag. By this time, the other group had already given up, packed up and left, so Ian and John gave some of their holes a try on the jig. Unfortunately, Derek and I had to take off in order to get him home in time to avoid any marital strife, so we packed up and started back. We got off the ice by 1:30 pm. Here's Derek just after we got back on solid ground:
When we got back to our car, we met another IceShanty guy, Willie Trout (aka Jim), whose two wheel drive pickup was stuck in the lot. His rear wheels had made icy divots in which they got no traction. Jim had fished Bigelow and had gotten skunked. Derek and I were able to push him out of the divots, and got him on his way. We had a relatively quick ride home (i.e., less than an hour). After I dropped Derek off and just before I got home, I got a text from Ian that he and John had found the fish. I think he said that they got a largemouth bass and some perch in the shallower water that we had hiked over on our way to the middle of the pond. I'm glad they got some fish, but wish that Derek and I had been able to stick around for a couple more hours to see it. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Last edited by PECo on Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:42 pm; edited 1 time in total
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 8:42 am Post subject: Re: Breakneck Pond 02/27
Wow hr walk huh... geez.... All these diehard people and i cant find a single one to go steelhead fishing with me upstate NY.... Who's in? Tryin to get up there and dont want to go alone...
Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 10:26 am Post subject:
It was a beautiful place to fish. I wish I had caught something but I still had a great time. It was nice to finally meet Ian and fish with him and John. The hike was challenging but actually not as bad as I thought it would be. The worst part was carrying the damn bucket. If I had a backpack it would have made the process that much easier. Here's a few pics of the pond...
Looking forward to a Metalfish video. Hopefully he has one coming.
I'd be down for some steelheads. Can I catch em from shore or will I need to purchase some waders?
Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT
Posted: Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:55 pm Post subject:
Nice pics Derek & Phil. I miss Breakneck but can wait until it's liquid again. You guys need to see this place in the middle of summer. I'll supply the garlic frogs & monster worms. We should all buy inflatables and return them afterwards.
Billy, I'll go to NY for steelhead.
Shell - I can recommend the Simms G3 convertible waders. They're super-comfortable...you won't want to wear regular pants ever again. Check out the Bargain Cave at Cabela's. _________________ Kira
*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
Thanks for joining me out there. Nice to finally meet you Derek and fish with you. Here's the bass. I took no pics the gills were alittle bigger than yours Phil.
_________________ 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: Tue Mar 01, 2011 9:11 am Post subject:
Now THAT's a vibrantly colored fish! All of the largemouth bass that we pulled out of my little local pond at Countryside Park yesterday were pale. Not as bad as the white perch looking bass in the Farmington Reservoir, but still pale. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Tue Mar 01, 2011 11:38 am Post subject:
I think that The Divinyls said it best: I don't know 'bout anybody else, when I think about fishing I touch myself. . . . _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
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We took our time getting to the pond. We hit the trailhead at 9:30 am and got on the ice shortly before 10:30 am. Here's Ian at the trailhead:
