CTFishTalk.com: Farmington River - Simsbury 01/06 - 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 arranged to meet TurtleKiss (aka Kira) and jonnyfly00 (aka Jon aka Shelly) at Spring Pond after 9:00 am, and filbert127 (aka Marc), who said that he might be able to show up around noon. I had called the Town of Avon's Recreation and Park Department the day before and the woman who took my call told me that there aren't any restrictions on ice fishing on the pond. However, when I arrived at the pond, I saw this sign posted near the entrance:

After I got over my disappointment, I talked with Kira and Jon, and we decided to check out the dead end branch of the Farmington River that's just north of the entrance to Curtiss Park along Route 315 (aka Tariffville Road) in Simsbury. We arrived shortly before 10:00 am and parked on the grass next to the road. There were a couple of cars already parked there. It was cold, probably in the 20s, but it was mostly sunny and there was very little wind. When we walked onto the ice, we saw two fishermen jigging through newly bored holes. There were many, many frozen over holes in the ice; it's obviously a popular spot. The fishermen told us that they were on a good spot for panfish and that there were chain pickerel further up the river. We continued up the river to the first big laydowns and began boring holes. The ice was consistently seven inches thick, although it talked a lot. Kira got freaked out a couple of times when she heard the ice crack nearby and really freaked out when cracks appeared at the same time. We jigged Hali-type jigs baited with maggots (aka spikes), mealworms and waxworms. Unfortunately, other than a couple of nibbles that Jon got in a couple of holes over eight to 10 feet of water, we got nothing. Jon and I decided to explore toward the intersection of the dead end branch with the main channel of the Farmington, which is open and flowing well. We stopped about 30 feet from the open water when I bored a hole in some white ice that was only four inches thick. It was tough to locate anything other than shallow water (i.e., less than six feet deep) over sand or decaying leaves. We didn't get a single nibble. Meanwhile, Kira had set a tipup with a small Senko and continued jigging near our original spot. When Jon and I returned from our exploratory hike, we learned that she had also gotten nada. By this time, the other two fisherman had left, so Jon and I checked out the ice toward the dead end where we had walked onto the ice. Again, we got nothing. At this point, it was almost 1:00 PM and I began lobbying for a trip to a local bar to get some fried food. But being the ice fishing whore that he is Rolling Eyes

, Jon stuck his rod down an old hole left by the other fisherman and soon yelled that he got a nibble, but missed the hookset. Since I couldn't get Jon to leave, I joined him at a nearby hole and, wouldn't you know it, set the hook on and landed a monster largemouth bass:

Okay, so it was a monstrously small largemouth bass. But it was the first action that I got in three hours. After that, Kira joined us and the fish began to come up quickly. But a sorrier, smaller mess of fish I've never seen before. Many of them had black spot disease (http://www.ctfishtalk.com/post38933.html#38933). Here's a photo of Jon with his lunker sunnie:

Here's the biggest of the four largemouth bass that I landed:

A six incher, baby! And here's Kira's first fish of the day:

And, finally, here's Jon pretending to be Harry Potter conjuring up a fish:

Tinius Fishicus! Kira also caught the smallest calico bass that I've ever seen. And I discovered that it's really hard to identify panfish species when they're translucent and only three to four inches long. After forty-five minutes of fast and furious tiny fish jigging, Jon finally agreed to get off the ice and into a bar for some food. As we walked off the ice, we passed a couple of fishermen who had shown up 20 minutes earlier. One of the guys said that it was his first time fishing. Ever! The other guy definitely knew what he was doing. He had a bucket that I'm sure he filled up with yellow perch, because he was pulling them out of the ice at a fast pace, sometimes two at a time! Obviously, Jon, Kira and I were using the wrong jigs all day. I think that the guy was using an unbaited jig. I'm not too familiar with ice fishing jigs, but it looked like a Genz Fat Boy-type of jig. Oh, well! The lesson learned on the day is to try a different kind of jig when you're not getting any action. Of course, it helps if you're not a noob with only one kind of jig on you. I'll be heading to a tackle shop, today. Oh, and I hope to meet you on another trip soon, Marc!
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johnkaz · Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 37

good report. still great to get out on the ice with freinds even if the fishing isnt that hot.
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"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau

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

I'll just let the picture do the talking:

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Kira

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

icemanCT · Joined: 06 Dec 2010 Posts: 11

You should also try Pickerel Cove near the north end of the run way at Simsbury Airport. Used to be good anyway

Doug

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

Doug

Thanks. I've always wondered about Pickerel Cove. During the Summer, it was covered with a uniformly green carpet of floating algae. I threw a line into it and left a trail through the algae. Then I paddled back out of there.

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

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

More candidates for the personal worst thread. At least you got out there, had some fun and caught something.

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

Hey, Dawg! There's nothing more thrilling than hearing the thunderous crack of ice and seeing huge cracks suddenly appear beneath your feet like lightning. I was standing next to Jon at Nod Brook when that happened and, suddenly, all 6' 7" of him came flying out of his chair like a Polaris missile from underneath the polar icecap. It was hilarious! You gotta come out with us, soon.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

nightstalker · Joined: 19 Feb 2010 Posts: 39

next time take that senko off the tip and put a shiner on you should have better luck. im telling ya hit the ice at nite to hear the runmblin and crackin of the ice youll get better laughs i was out wed nite and almost dropped to my knees a couple times we were on 4in of ice and it would flex pretty good lol it was cool. only means its making ice always a pleasant sound. keep at it the fish can only get bigger.

johnkaz · Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 37

that sure is a whopper turtle Smile

.. those fish look like great pike bait..
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"Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after." - Henry David Thoreau

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

I prefer to catch and release largemouth bass, but we could definitely have live lined the tiny ones that I caught yesterday.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

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

Hopefully I'll be heading out somewhere this weekend. I picked up some stuff today so I'm ready to roll. I didn't get any of my tackle yet so I picked up a couple jigs today just to tide me over. I'm jonesin' big time.

johnkaz · Joined: 04 Jan 2011 Posts: 37

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

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Kira!

Go get them Woman Exclamation

SeaDog1

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Huh Kira!

Is this the right size "Pan Fish" your looking for Question

SeaDog1