Outdoors: Ice fishing increasingly popular, but some landowners aren’t fans By BOB SAMPSON
Ice fishing is a cold, often miserable, torturous pastime that the Marquis de Sade would be proud of.
The charm of fishing on rock-solid frozen water is ice fishermen, like so many who live the outdoor lifestyle, are kindred spirits. They are a friendly lot that often bring gas stoves and large supplies of food to share with fellow anglers, who suffer equally, every time they bore a hole from which they hope to pull a few fish.
Ice fishing has gained in popularity geometrically during the past 10 to 20 years, thanks in large part to promotion through magazines, TV and the development of a wide array of gear that makes this sport both more effective and comfortable.
When I first gave it a try as a child, like all new experiences, it was an adventure. Success came through personal knowledge of local lakes.
My first tip-ups were bought at a World War II surplus store, three crossed pieces of wood, with a simple spool attached below the water line and a trip mechanism on it that released a bent, flat wire with a small “flag” at the end. When a fish pulled on the line and the spool rotated a full circle, which equates to a few inches of line, the trip would release the bent wire and the flag would snap up and wave like a friend at a distance.
Modern ice anglers can buy high-end plastic rigs that are nearly as complex as the transmission on a car, some with styrofoam cores that cover the hole and insulate, so the open water does not refreeze when air temperatures are below freezing. This technology is expensive, $20 or more for a single set-up.
The advent of ice sleds and pop tents, along with gas augurs and other fancy accessories any “gadgeteer” would marvel at, might disgust an old school ice angler with masochistic tendencies — but they do make it easy and much more comfortable.
Modern toys coupled with promotion have created a noticeable increase in ice fishing participation.
The connections that develop between fishermen is a part of this sport at all levels. The bonds between ice fishermen are closer, probably because of the common suffering all who pursue this sport must endure.
After walleyes
During the past decade, ice fishing has grown in popularity in Connecticut, to some degree, because of the highly successful introduction of walleyes during the early 1990s.
Check your Connecticut Anglers Guide for the brown-colored “Walleye Lake” lettering beside all the waters stocked with this highly desirable species. Coventry Lake, Gardner Lake and Beach Pond are withina short drive from Norwich. Lake Saltonstall (East Haven) is accessible during open-water season under restrictions. Mashapaug Lake, another walleye lake lies near the Massachusetts border. West of the Connecticut River, Lake Housatonic, Squantz Pond and Saugatuck Reservoir all provide walleye catching opportunities. Squantz Pond has consistently produced the largest walleyes caught in this state since the program’s inception.
Walleyes, like vampires, are active during low light conditions, a fact those who target this species quickly learn from experience and reading. Serious walleye fishermen launch their boats or walk out onto the ice when most others are heading home for supper.
After dark during the winter, the world becomes bone-chilling cold. Unless fishermen bring propane heaters, their own wood or have warm clothing and the constitutions of Viking warriors, walleye fishing can be painful.
For this reason, many ice fishermen, day or night, scavenge shorelines and islands of the lakes they fish for wood to burn in fires made on the ice to ward off the cold.
Key issue
Herein lies the reason this column was written.
One of our readers who owns the biggest island on Coventry Lake, one of the state’s premier walleye fisheries, sent an e-mail asking for help and consideration from those who fish there.
A plea that should be heeded everywhere.
His property, called Underwood Island, has been assaulted, mostly by ice fishermen, for a number of years.
Like Gardner Lake, which is Norwich’s local walleye lake, Coventry Lake receives a tremendous amount of fishing pressure in general, but ice fishing pressure in particular, specifically for this highly prized species, along with the trout with which it’s stocked.
This time of year, there are people fishing after dark for “eyes” whenever the ice is safe and sometimes when it isn’t. On a mild Friday night, it looks like an encampment with lights and fires all across the lake’s frozen surface.
This property owner was angered by the fact that people have cut the trees on his property to burn (without permission) and how even the plantings he’s made have been destroyed by those who treat his property worse than if it were their own.
His greatest complaint is that ice fishermen use the island as a toilet. Proof is in the form of tracks in the snow, leading directly from fishing spots to piles of fecal material on his property!
This is not an isolated situation, but a echo of similar scenarios through the years by property owners throughout the region.
Bottom line is, no one, fisherman, hunter, biker, hiker, kayaker or slob, has the right to “scent mark” anyone else's property! This kind of behavior, scent marking and littering, is the primary reason so much private land is posted “No Trespassing.”
All who go into the woods and on the waters must do their best to leave no trace of their presence.
Ice fishing is a cold, often miserable, torturous pastime that the Marquis de Sade would be proud of.
The charm of fishing on rock-solid frozen water is ice fishermen, like so many who live the outdoor lifestyle, are kindred spirits. They are a friendly lot that often bring gas stoves and large supplies of food to share with fellow anglers, who suffer equally, every time they bore a hole from which they hope to pull a few fish.
Ice fishing has gained in popularity geometrically during the past 10 to 20 years, thanks in large part to promotion through magazines, TV and the development of a wide array of gear that makes this sport both more effective and comfortable.
When I first gave it a try as a child, like all new experiences, it was an adventure. Success came through personal knowledge of local lakes.
My first tip-ups were bought at a World War II surplus store, three crossed pieces of wood, with a simple spool attached below the water line and a trip mechanism on it that released a bent, flat wire with a small “flag” at the end. When a fish pulled on the line and the spool rotated a full circle, which equates to a few inches of line, the trip would release the bent wire and the flag would snap up and wave like a friend at a distance.
Modern ice anglers can buy high-end plastic rigs that are nearly as complex as the transmission on a car, some with styrofoam cores that cover the hole and insulate, so the open water does not refreeze when air temperatures are below freezing. This technology is expensive, $20 or more for a single set-up.
The advent of ice sleds and pop tents, along with gas augurs and other fancy accessories any “gadgeteer” would marvel at, might disgust an old school ice angler with masochistic tendencies — but they do make it easy and much more comfortable.
Modern toys coupled with promotion have created a noticeable increase in ice fishing participation.
The connections that develop between fishermen is a part of this sport at all levels. The bonds between ice fishermen are closer, probably because of the common suffering all who pursue this sport must endure.
After walleyes
During the past decade, ice fishing has grown in popularity in Connecticut, to some degree, because of the highly successful introduction of walleyes during the early 1990s.
Check your Connecticut Anglers Guide for the brown-colored “Walleye Lake” lettering beside all the waters stocked with this highly desirable species. Coventry Lake, Gardner Lake and Beach Pond are withina short drive from Norwich. Lake Saltonstall (East Haven) is accessible during open-water season under restrictions. Mashapaug Lake, another walleye lake lies near the Massachusetts border. West of the Connecticut River, Lake Housatonic, Squantz Pond and Saugatuck Reservoir all provide walleye catching opportunities. Squantz Pond has consistently produced the largest walleyes caught in this state since the program’s inception.
Walleyes, like vampires, are active during low light conditions, a fact those who target this species quickly learn from experience and reading. Serious walleye fishermen launch their boats or walk out onto the ice when most others are heading home for supper.
After dark during the winter, the world becomes bone-chilling cold. Unless fishermen bring propane heaters, their own wood or have warm clothing and the constitutions of Viking warriors, walleye fishing can be painful.
For this reason, many ice fishermen, day or night, scavenge shorelines and islands of the lakes they fish for wood to burn in fires made on the ice to ward off the cold.
Key issue
Herein lies the reason this column was written.
One of our readers who owns the biggest island on Coventry Lake, one of the state’s premier walleye fisheries, sent an e-mail asking for help and consideration from those who fish there.
A plea that should be heeded everywhere.
His property, called Underwood Island, has been assaulted, mostly by ice fishermen, for a number of years.
Like Gardner Lake, which is Norwich’s local walleye lake, Coventry Lake receives a tremendous amount of fishing pressure in general, but ice fishing pressure in particular, specifically for this highly prized species, along with the trout with which it’s stocked.
This time of year, there are people fishing after dark for “eyes” whenever the ice is safe and sometimes when it isn’t. On a mild Friday night, it looks like an encampment with lights and fires all across the lake’s frozen surface.
This property owner was angered by the fact that people have cut the trees on his property to burn (without permission) and how even the plantings he’s made have been destroyed by those who treat his property worse than if it were their own.
His greatest complaint is that ice fishermen use the island as a toilet. Proof is in the form of tracks in the snow, leading directly from fishing spots to piles of fecal material on his property!
This is not an isolated situation, but a echo of similar scenarios through the years by property owners throughout the region.
Bottom line is, no one, fisherman, hunter, biker, hiker, kayaker or slob, has the right to “scent mark” anyone else's property! This kind of behavior, scent marking and littering, is the primary reason so much private land is posted “No Trespassing.”
All who go into the woods and on the waters must do their best to leave no trace of their presence.