You hopefully all had a chance to enjoy some of the beautiful weather that we have been experiencing, particularly last Monday. On Sunday, my daughter Jen invited me to join her and some friends on the ice (and maybe bring some ice fishing tackle?) to enjoy the nice day.
After just a little scurrying around, the tackle and auger were located, and the auger was charged. That left only bait on the list but a quick trip to Flagg’s Tackle revealed that we were not the only one’s ice fishing that weekend. Rodney told me that he was sold out of all small and medium minnows and he only had a few large shiners left. That was what we left with and soon we were on the ice and ready to go.
As it should be, this ice fishing event was built around food. Jen had burgers and dogs. I provided some steaks from the button buck that fell to me in December. The results were excellent and Zack and Daniele Rand, Matt, Tiffany and Sophie Gauvin along with Sophie’s friend Ava DeJackome were soon eating, socializing and enjoying the spring-like weather while French Brittanies Dinah and Laney romped on the ice.
The Ion electric ice auger purchased last season has proved to be an outstanding acquisition. It is light and drills holes efficiently and quietly. Five tip-ups were untangled, baited and set and it was not long before a flag popped up.
To my surprise, the fish on the hook that had eaten the large shiner was a nice-sized black crappie. Here in New England, we call these panfish calico bass and they are fun to catch and great to eat. While this writer was distracted, Jen tossed the fish back into the hole “to keep Dinah from getting it.” It was the only fish caught in the brief time I was there, but it inspired me to take advantage of the fact that Monday was a day off and the weather forecast was for a gorgeous day.
Monday found me back at Flagg’s despite having a few shiners left. No one around is more knowledgeable about all kinds of fishing that Rodney and he advised me to try jigging with meal worms and maggots, the preferred bait for perch and calicoes.
After the short drive, we were on the ice and getting set up. The plan was to set some tip-ups and then jig for panfish. It wasn’t long before the tackles were in and I was sitting in a comfortable sport chair jigging away. It was such a great morning it seemed like nothing could add to it but then a mature bald eagle flew over and soared around the end of the pond for a few minutes. My attention was diverted by a solid hit on the jigging rod that turned into a nice ten-inch calico or crappie, take your pick for a name as either way it was a good start.
Nice weather and high pressure are usually not conducive to great fishing and that was the only hit I got jigging. Four of the big shiners dangling below the tip-ups got grabbed, however, but I was only able to land one more fish, another big crappie. The time spent just sitting in the near 60-degree warmth was very therapeutic and it was a great day. A lot of time was spent with my mind wandering and I remembered how much fun ice fishing can be. That led to a decision to get onboard with hard water fishing and get the newest toy for ice fishermen, a flasher fish finder.
The clear consensus among serious ice fishermen is that a flasher is the way to go and the leader in that field is Vexilar. That led to my putting on my outdoor writer hat Tuesday and giving the company a call. It was my good fortune to talk with Tom, who has been with the company a long time.
The upper Midwest, particularly Minnesota, is the epicenter of hard-core ice fishermen. That was something I learned back in my time working for Ducks Unlimited. Everyone in the office, when the DU headquarters was in Long Grove Ill., would check out of work mid-day on a winter Friday and drive up to five hours to “their” lake where the weekend would be spent in elaborate bob houses that featured all the comforts of home. As Tom reminded me, mid-westerners like to jig fish for panfish (bluegills are a favorite and called “bream,” pronounced brim), yellow perch, and crappie.
Tom put things in perspective when he noted that easterners who bass fish generally start by shelling out $30,000 for a bass boat. He said that you could get started with state-of-the -art ice fishing gear including an auger, pop-up ice fishing shanty, and a flasher for around $1,000 and the winter was a long season in Minnesota with lots of weekends to hone your ice fishing sills and have lots of action. It is my opinion that here in New England, the use of flashers like the Vexilar line will explode in the next year and more ice fishermen will be sitting in ice fishing tents, enjoying increased success using the latest technology.
The key is the Vexilar flasher as with it you can determine if the hole you drilled is over fish and you can see on the flasher if the fish are interested in your presentation. Like all outdoor sports, there are lots of options for “toys.” You can purchase a number of different jig styles and even use a LED light to get fluorescent painted jigs glowing to attract fish to strike.
If there are no fish, you simply move and drill another hole until you find cooperative finned quarry. So, you can expect this writer to be a well-equipped expert by the time 2020 comes to an end and you can look forward to my tales of the ones that didn’t get away. And think, all this because of time spent on a sunny Monday sitting and thinking of what I could buy to provide an excuse to get outdoors more next winter!
The Mahar Fish’N Game Club Game Supper is coming up March 12 in the school cafeteria. Tickets are out in Orange at Flagg’s Tackle, Trail Head and The Barber Shop. You can also email high school Fish’N Game Club advisor Evelyn Cunha at ecunha@rcmahar.org, middle school club advisor Gerry Duguay at gduguay@rcmahar.org or me at mikeroche3@msn.com. It will be a great meal and a fun evening!