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)