Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:35 am Post subject: Nod Brook WMA - Lower Pond 01/09
After checking out another pond that had sketchy ice, DirtyDawg10 (aka Derek), jonnyfly00 (aka Jon aka Shelly) and I decided to stick close to home and headed over to the lower (i.e., north) pond at Nod Brook WMA. We got on the ice around 10:45 am. It was cold, probably in the 20s, and very blustery. However, we enjoyed clear skies and sunshine, and solid ice underneath the drifting snow. We started at the channel on the north end of the pond, where we found a couple of parallel rows of holes. Whoever made them must have fished out the channel, because we landed only one fish on a tipup baited with a medium shiner. It was Derek's first fish ever through the ice and a nice one at that; a 13 inch, 10 ounce fatty yellow perch:
Being the hunter-gatherer that he is, Derek took it home to feed his family. Jon, who as usual was equipped with his Humminbird fish finder, bored tons of holes in the ice with his six inch StrikeMaster Mora auger. Hopping from hole to hole, he landed his first ever fall fish. And then, of course, he landed three more, and one sunny in between. Here he is with the largest of his fall fish:
Meanwhile, Derek jigged up a small yellow perch, which I think was really the first fish that he's ever landed through the ice. This one went back down the hole before I could get a photo of it. Unfortunately, I got skunked, without even a nibble all day. Right when we decided to get off the ice at 2:45 pm, Jon noticed that the flag on Derek's tipup was up. Derek sprinted over to it and pulled up a nice fall fish:
I learned that I have to keep an eye on the wind forecast before heading out onto the ice. I was miserably cold all day. My fingers, especially, got pretty numb. The gusting wind produced snow devil cyclones and buried Jon's thermal tipup underneath a drift. Despite my discomfort, however, I think that ice fishing all day sure beats the heck out of not ice fishing all day. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Last edited by PECo on Mon Jan 10, 2011 12:08 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 11:52 am Post subject:
Funny video...lol
Moved my previous report over here...
I decided after seeing all of the ice fishing reports that it was time for me to hit the hard water. Phil (aka PECo), Jon (aka jonnyfly00) and I had plans to meet up at a Local Pond. Phil and I arrived first and began getting our gear ready to head out then I decided to actually look at the pond and noticed a large area of open water. We headed over anyway and Phil used the spud to check the ice and we found that it was not very reliable ice in the area we wanted to fish. Due to some sketchy ice conditions we decided to move on to Nod Brook.
We arrived at Nod Brook just after 10:00am and found anywhere from 6" to 8" of ice. It was cold but not too bad except for when the winds picked up. I had a jigging pole and 1 tip up and Phil and Jon were mostly jigging although they did also set up a tip up. The first fish of the day was when Phil saw my tip up flag pop and I ran over and pulled in a nice 13" fat yellow perch. We were live lining minnows on the tip ups.
Jon landed several fallfish ranging between 6" to 10" and he also found a little sunny. I believe he was using Swedish pimples with wax worms.
I picked up my first fish on an ice jig which was a 9" or 10" yellow perch. I was using a nickel ice Swedish pimple with a "Roland Martin" wax worm from a can...lol...you gotta love it. As we were packing up and ready to get off the ice my tip up flag went up again and it was a good distance away. I made a run for it and pulled in a 12" fallfish.
All in all it was a good day with some great company. It was only my second trip onto the ice and my first time catching anything. I'm hoping to get out again real soon. Unfortunately Phil didn't bring anything in but despite the howling winds I think he still had a good time.
Here's a pic of my perch getting ready for dinner ...
What are you guys doing with all this pike bait your catching? I hope your saving it for the Pike Party II - Pike on Ice! Coming soon to a lake near you.
Are you sure those are not white suckers? Mabey I've been using fallfish for bait all this time. _________________ Go big or go home!
Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 2:59 pm Post subject:
No, we haven't been saving the baitfish that we've been catching. But we did think about it. And, yes, we're sure that those were fall fish, not white suckers. The first time that I ever caught one, I sent a photo of it to the DEP and a biologist identified it for me. Plus, the mouth of a white sucker opens downward. _________________ Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!
Congrats. Like the vid!! _________________ 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: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:52 pm Post subject:
Don't take this the wrong way, but at least you guys aren't catching bass either. I'd feel terrible if everyone was catching bass like crazy while I'm averaging 2 sunnies, a crappie, and half a perch for every 6 hours of trying. I haven't even caught a 2011 slimedart yet. Where did all the bass go?
Welcome to the ice, Derek. _________________ Kira
*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Plainville
Posted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 9:54 pm Post subject:
Flipper wrote:
What are you guys doing with all this pike bait your catching? I hope your saving it for the Pike Party II - Pike on Ice! Coming soon to a lake near you.
Are you sure those are not white suckers? Mabey I've been using fallfish for bait all this time.
Ya flipper those are called fallfish or I call them river dace. Catch them all the time when I do a little trout fishing. I got one frozen in my freezer thats well over 14 inches. Waiting till late Feb to pull that guy out... _________________ http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o21/PickerelPete/IfeH-r.gif
Bass are warm water fish
Thus when winter comes the bass will retreat to the deepest parts of a lake or pond where the water is warmest and only leave to feed sporadically at shallower depths.
Also they will not move or chase lure or preferably bait very far because of slower metabolisim and lower O2 levels.
You have to fish the deep holes and the slopes of those holes to find bass.
Remember -> Ice fishing is strictly VERTICAL fishing so unlike open water you really must do a lot of searching or set up where you expect them to travel.
Joined: 03 May 2007 Posts: 538 Location: Plainville
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 4:27 pm Post subject:
Ya Kira as Seadog said the bass slow down a lot once the ice gets going. In over a decade of ice fishing and the past 5 years really getting into it I've only caught one bass that was over 4 pounds thru the ice, and I caught it last year at Birges. Trout fishing is much easier through the ice, setup where you would if it was summer for bass. I've caught trout thru the ice 5 feet off the bank, and even in 3 feet of water over weeds when targeting bass. _________________ http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o21/PickerelPete/IfeH-r.gif
Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT
Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:32 pm Post subject:
In lakes/ponds with partial ice coverage, would fishing the open areas be productive if they meet the criteria of being both deep and warm? _________________ Kira
*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*
in fishermans book Icefishing Secrets has a pretty good section devoted to largemouth and basically they talk alot about first and last ice being the best times, and they say that you should target the slopes and weededges that fall into the deeper parts of the lakes and ponds. They also say that the bass' metabolisms slow down to such a slow pace that they might feed only once a week and that after they feed you could put a lure or bait right in front of their face and they will only stare at it! from my experience i think they are probably right, and maybe storm fronts have something to do with getting them active enough to feed again?
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