CTFishTalk.com: Butterworth Brook Reservoir 01/21 - 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 finally met and fished with asianfisher (aka Billy). He took me down to Butterworth Brook Reservoir (not Butterwood, Billy!), which is a small pond in Hamden that ice skaters use when the nine inches of clear ice isn't covered with five to six inches of slushy snow and one to two inches of crusty snow. He knew that the ice was good there because he fishes it often and his Uncle Johnny (aka John aka The Crappie King) had fished it the day before. When we arrived there just before 12:00 pm, it was sunny and cold, probably in the 20s. There was very little wind at first, but as the day progressed, clouds rolled in and occasional gusts turned into a brisk breeze. However, the wind died down with the sun and it was calm by the time we got off the ice just after 5:00 pm. We drilled holes in the deepest part of the pond, which is near the spillover dam and only about eight feet deep. Billy also drilled holes for five tip-ups closer to the shore. I started the day by jigging up a sunny on a perch eye jig baited with a maggot (aka spike). I caught a couple more on the same jig baited with a waxworm from a can, like those hawked by Roland Martin on his show all of the time. Meanwhile, Billy landed the first of the keeper largemouth bass that he jigged up:

Here's the keeper bass that he got on a tip-up:

And here's another keeper bass that he jigged up:

Billy jigged up three keeper bass, and got the one keeper and one short on the tip-ups. Meanwhile, I was catching only sunnies on my perch eye jig (top), so Billy gave me a fire and ice jig (bottom) like the one he was using:

Billy also showed me how to rig a teaser fly about eight inches above a jig. Baited or unbaited, it catches fish. I gave the fire and ice jig a good shot, but ended up not having any luck with it. The fishing also slowed down for Billy, although he did spend a bit of time building a fire to warm us up on the ice:

I was skeptical that it would be worth the effort, but when your fingers and toes are numb, two minutes in front of a roaring fire definitely alleviates the pain for a while. Meanwhile, Billy's uncle, The Crappie King, showed up at about 3:00 pm:

I'm still not sure whether the "a" in Crappie King is pronounced like the vowel sound in "pop" or "bat" Laughing

, but he began pulling up sunnies and then black crappies as soon as he put his jig in the water. He used a jig that was similar to Billy's fire and ice jig, but made it really clear that it was slightly different. . . and better! After watching John pull up a bunch of fish, I decided to switch back to my perch eye jig. John told me to bait it with maggots instead of waxworms and soon I was outfishing him. I ended up landing about 20 fish on the day, mostly on the perch eye jig baited with maggots (thanks again for those, John!). Although most of them were sunnies, I also got four good crappies and a short bass.

Thanks for a good day out on the ice, Billy! I can't wait to get out there, again. Very Happy

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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

metalfish · Joined: 10 Nov 2008 Posts: 330

Congrats.
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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

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

Nice! Sounds like a good time.

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

Sure was... Went out with Kira today... she got me i got skunked... wasnt good day for me... few flags... flags were it nothing on other side lmfao... going out tomorrow to redeem myself....

windflag · Joined: 05 Jan 2011 Posts: 12

i hope you let that baby bass go, lol

asianfisher · Joined: 12 Jan 2009 Posts: 920

i did kept only one... traded it for 6 crappie...

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

Good luck keeping your cell phones charged, everybody! One photo can decrease battery life by 25%. It's freaking crazy.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*