Ice Fishing On The Big Lake - Winnipesaukee

Landlocked Salmon

January 22-24, 2018

The fishable ice on Cape Cod didn’t last very long.  I decided it was time for a trip to New Hampshire’s big lake, Winnipesaukee.  Cynthia and I drove up to Meredith on Monday morning.  We stopped at AJ’s Bait and Tackle to get large smelt for Lake Trout and large shiners for Cusk.  The first day we fished a spot on the north shore where I had some luck last year catching Lake Trout.  We set two tip ups in shallow water on either side of some rocky, weedy structure.  In addition to attracting Lake Trout, this spot holds Yellow Perch, including a few jumbos over 12 inches.  Two more tip ups were placed out in deeper water.  The bait (large smelt) in the shallower spot was set about three feet off the bottom.  The other had the bait set 8 feet below the ice.  It didn’t take too long for a few perch to find the bait near the rocks. A little while later the flag popped up and this time the line was peeling off the spool so fast that I was certain it wasn’t a perch.  It ended up being our first Lake Trout of the year.  It was kind of small, only 17 inches and was promptly released after taking a photo.

Lake Trout Salvelinus namaycush

Rainbow Smelt Used As Bait

Yellow Perch Perca flavescent with a large smelt

That night we stayed at the Oliver Lodge in Meredith.  We were there last year and liked it very much.  (See last year’s posting for more about the lodge.)  That night, before settling in, six Cusk devices were put out overnight in hopes of catching this tasty member of the Cod family. The next day was not a good day to go anywhere.  An ice storm made driving and fishing extremely difficult.  Checked the cusk lines out in front of the lodge but they were fishless.  We put out four tip ups which we periodically checked throughout the day. In New Hampshire lakes that are managed for Lake Trout and Landlocked Salmon, anglers are limited to using only two free-spool fishing devices per person.  In addition to the tip-ups or jigging rods, each angler may set out six Cusk devices. (NH Regulations For Cusk Devices are available at the NH Fish & Game website). 

Cusk Device

Despite our efforts, no fish were caught during the storm.  On our third day we drove back to my favorite spot on the northern shore.  Once there we realized that it was far too windy.  We went to a nearby spot that offered better shelter from the wind.  We set two tip-ups out with large smelt three feet off the bottom and two with the smelt swimming only eight feet below the ice.  It seems that the Lake Trout were chasing smelt just below the ice that day.  We each ended up with a nice Lake Trout, both of them hooked just below the ice.  I was surprised that we didn’t catch a Landlocked Salmon since they are commonly caught when fishing bait just below the ice.  Salmon are illegal to harvest during the winter in New Hampshire.  However I had hoped to catch and release one just for fun and add it to the 2018 Species List. 

My Lake Trout

Cynthia's Lake Trout

We stayed one more night at the lodge, then drove home in the morning. It was a good trip overall. Caught some nice lakers, and a jumbo Yellow Perch.  The area in front of the lodge produced Lake Trout for us last year.  I know for sure that the area is too rocky for Cusk.  Cusk prefer a sandy bottom at this time of year as they begin their spawning season.

January 28-30, 2018

I was determined to add Cusk and Landlocked Salmon to the 2018 Species List and that meant another trip to the big lake.  This time I would seek out some Cusk habitat.  On Sunday morning I drove north to Laconia to get my bait at Martell’s Bait and Sport Shop. This day I would be fishing close to a sandy beach on the southern shore of Winnipesaukee.   I arrived a little before noon and started setting out tip-ups and Cusk devices.  The six Cusk devices were arranged in an oval pattern in an area with about 20 feet of water, straight out in front of the beach.  The tip-ups were placed over deeper water with large smelt fished eight feet below the ice. The weather was great, sunny with balmy temperatures in the mid 40s. Since it was Sunday afternoon a lot of anglers were out on the ice with their families.  Only problem was nobody was catching fish, myself included.  I stayed on until after sunset.  Checked and re-baited the Cusk lines, and then called it a day.  This time I had a room booked at the Bear Tree Lodge in Meredith.  Nothing fancy, cheap but comfortable.  

A Cusk Device Set Up

The next day I went back to the beach to check the Cusk lines.  I was very pleased to discover that I had caught four Cusk overnight.  The smallest was released while the other three would be used for chowder.  The Cusk lines were reset for another night. Next I went back to my favorite spot on the north shore.  I fished one tip-up near the structure and one out in deeper water, again with the smelt 8 feet below the ice. This time the Yellow perch were inactive.  Finally a flag popped up on the tip-up in deeper water.  It was a 17 inch Lake Trout.  That was the only flag.  So I went back to my room at the lodge.  The room has a small a counter and kitchen sink, just right for cleaning my Cusk.

Cusk Lota lota

Tuesday was my last day of this excursion and the pressure was on to catch, photograph and release a Salmon.  Went back to the Cusk lines. This time there were no Cusk on the lines but most of the hooks were cleaned off.  The good news is that I learned something.  The day before I had hooked the shiners by the lips and caught four Cusk on six lines.  This time I had hooked the shiners under the dorsal fins and the bait was stolen. Eureka!  Lesson learned: always hook baitfish through the lips when Cusk fishing.  Since there were just a few more hours left before the return trip home, it made sense to stay and fish at this spot rather than waste time driving elsewhere. I placed my two tip-ups near a steep drop off.  The bait was lowered just about 6 feet below the ice to target the Salmon and Lakers chasing smelt in the top of the water column.  This strategy worked well.  Before noon I had caught, photographed and released two beautiful, silvery Landlocked Salmon, one 19 inches and the other 24 inches.  Mission accomplished it was time to go home.  

Landlocked Salmon  Salmo salar sebego  (24 inches)

2018 Species Wish List

I made a wish list last year that included 17 species.  By the end of the year eight of those targeted species had been caught.  They were: Lake Trout, Landlocked Salmon, Tiger Trout, Black Crappie, Brown Bullhead, Winter Flounder, Grouper, and False Albacore. This year’s list is again separated into three categories.

Northern Pike

Species caught in 2016 that I shouldn’t have missed in 2017

Cusk (Saltwater)

Whiting

Northern Pike

European Perch

Blue Runner

The Plan - 1. Plan on more party boat trips out to Stellwagen Bank to provide a shot at catching saltwater Cusk and Whiting. 2) Another vacation to Europe, this time Ireland, will provide opportunities for European Perch and Northern Pike.  3. Targeting Pike during the ice fishing season is another option. 4. Blue Runner show up around the jetties on the south side of Cape Cod during late summer and early fall.  Just have to be there at the right time. 

New species to target 

Mahi

Ocean Pout

European Ling

Carp

Rudd

Roach

Tench

Bream

The Plan - 1. Could get lucky with Mahi this year on Brown’s Ledge during late Summer.  

2. Best chance for Ocean Pout is as a by-catch while fishing for Haddock on a party boat.  

3. There’s a chance of bagging a European Ling in Ireland.  4. The Blackstone River near the Rhode Island border is supposed to be a good place for Carp.  5. Rudd, Roach, Tench, and Bream are European fresh water species to target while in Ireland.

Redfish

Species that I haven’t caught in a while that will be targeted in 2017

Weakfish

Redfish

Lizardfish

Skate

Freshwater Cusk

The Plan - 1. On Cape Cod, Weakfish occasionally move into the estuaries during the Spring. I have a couple locations in mind to try this year.  2. Redfish are another Haddock fishing by-catch species.  3. Lizardfish show up in shallow water near beaches late summer and early fall.  Might try trolling for them in my kayak. 4. Fish at night off the Cape’s north side beaches for Skate  5. A couple ice fishing trips to Lake Winnipesaukee will give me a shot at a Freshwater Cusk.

Deep Freeze Is Great For Ice Fishing

White Perch from Scargo Lake

The extremely cold temperatures that hit the eastern parts of the country helped to kick off what is shaping up to be one of the best ice fishing seasons in years.  Southern New England ponds that haven’t had fishable ice since the winter of 2015 locked up solid with 6-10 inches of black ice. So I decided to postpone my northerly excursions and fish a few local ponds. 

January 1- 3 Spectacle Pond Sandwich, MA

Spectacle is one of my favorite Cape Cod trout ponds.  It also has a steep and deeply rutted access road to the public landing.  Access in the winter can be a problem after a big snow storm.  That’s the main reason I made this pond my first stop for ice fishing.  

Fished three days straight.  Caught over 50 yellow perch.  Kept a few over 13 inches to eat. The abundance of perch made trout fishing more difficult, but I still managed to catch one Rainbow Trout.  Another obstacle was the fact that the local bait shops had not yet stocked up on shiners.  Plus, thanks to the cold snap, my minnow traps in the salt marshes were empty. Had to rely on worms from the composter and store bought nightcrawlers.  The crawly critters are good for Rainbows, but shiners would have been better for trying to catch a big holdover Brown Trout.

Rainbow Trout a Yellow Perch from Spectacle Pond

January 8 Long Pond Lakeville, MA

Lakeville in Bristol County is home to fishing buddy and fellow Canal Rat, John Morgan.  John lives on the shore of Long Pond and has been catching warm water gamefish there for many years.  While fishing for Striped bass in the Cape Cod Canal we’ve talked about trying some ice fishing on his lake.  Until now a lack of safe ice has prevented us from doing so.  

I arrived at John’s place a little after 8am.  We would be joined by two others, Amanda, daughter of one of Johns friends and her boyfriend Zack.  John drove us to his favorite spot.  We fished 10 holes.  The ice was over at least eight inches thick.  After a few hours everyone had pulled in at least one Largemouth Bass.  A couple pickerel and a yellow perch rounded out the catch.  All fish were released after taking pictures.

John puts a Largemouth Bass on the ice

John holds up his Largemouth

Amanda with a nice Largemouth Bass

Another Long Pond Largemouth

Zack's Chain Pickerel was the biggest fish of the day.

The wind started to pick up so we decided to quit early.  Hopefully the ice will remain safe through February and we’ll be able to participate in an upcoming tournament that takes place on Long Pond.  

January 9 Scargo Lake and Mid-Cape Brookies

Fishable ice is a rarity on Cape Cod so I decided to hit two Cape Cod ponds in one day.  The first spot was Scargo Lake in Dennis.  This lake’s claim to fame lies in it’s shape which resembles a fish or whale.  It’s also the setting for a local Native American legend/love story which also involves a couple of fish.   This fishy pond is well stocked with Trout and Smallmouth Bass.  It was really the Smallmouths that I was targeting.  

Scargo Lake viewed from atop of Scargo Tower

The ice was thick and very clear.  It was also sunny and the beginning of a warm spell with temps in the mid 30s.  I waited over an hour before the first flag went up.  Something grabbed the bait, swam away with it and dropped it.  This happened two more times. Then finally I hooked one and pulled in a 14 inch White Perch, which is large for this species.  I stayed for another 40 minutes until noon and decided to get moving while there was still time to fish another pond.

There’s a few ponds on Cape Cod that are stocked with Brook Trout only.  I won’t mention the name of this pond.  This small, beautiful gem of a pond would be spoiled if it were to get too crowded.  

I arrived at the pond early in the afternoon.  Set out two tip ups with shiners and three with worms.  Small yellow perch started nibbling on the worms before I was finished setting up.  Very soon after after setting up, something hit a shiner.  It was the first Brook Trout.  One hole in just five feet of kept producing perch.   I pulled the tip up and started jigging and up came Brook Trout number two.  After jigging up a third Brookie I decided to call it a day. 

Brook Trout from a Cape Cod Pond

Note - 1/16/18 -The warm spell continued along with some rain.  The ice on the Cape’s ponds have melted somewhat.  Another thaw this weekend could mean a return to open water.   It might be time for trip up North.

Scargo Tower in Dennis