Ice Fishing

Ice?

/ Tim Burns / Leave a comment

One of the things I was looking forward to when I moved up to New Hampshire getting into ice fishing. I have been out a few times since I moved here, but not nearly as much as I would like. I found the process kind of cumbersome. Especially when I am by myself. This Christmas Marylynn got me the things I needed to round out my ice fishing kit. A battery-powered ice auger should make things a hell of a lot easier. I have always gotten pretty tired of drilling holes by hand. The power auger will allow me to move around and search out the best places to fish and the flasher/fish finder I received for Father’s Day will tell me what’s under the ice. The pack basket will be great to keep my tip-ups neat and tidy.

Now if Mother Nature would cooperate that would be great. It seems that I may find safe ice north of the notches, but the flooding and rain have washed away most of the ice here. I am really looking forward to some fresh fish tacos!

Ice Fishing

/ Tim Burns / Leave a comment

Well, I finally got out to do some hard water fishing. I went with Ryan who has much more experience than I do. We drilled a bunch of holes and set up half a dozen tip-ups. We also used a bunch of old iced-over holes to jig. Ryan got a few while jigging, but not a whole lot of action. It was a beautiful day just to be outside. In the low 40s and it was quite nice until the wind kicked. We saw a bunch of other people fishing on the other side of the lake, but we could not tell how they here doing. I how that the ice holds up so that I can get out a few more times.

No trophies today!

Checking out the ice.

/ Tim Burns / 1 Comment

Marylynn and I went for a little walk today. Really just to get out and enjoy the scenery. We checked two ponds for ice fishing potential. The first one “Echo Lake” in North Conway had about three inches of ice. There was a little water showing on the sunny side of the lake. I think I will wait a bit to try that one. We found some evidence of a Pileated Woodpecker looking for dinner in pine tree on the beach. We then went over to “Red Eagle Pond” in Albany. This pond had four inches or more. I might try this pond at the end of the week. This will be a place to do a little kayaking this spring as well. We also found some good access to “The Swift River” for some spring trout.

Echo Lake, North Conway
Red Eagle Pond, Albany

Getting ready for some ice.

/ Tim Burns / 1 Comment

I spent the evening spooling up my two Eagle Claw inline ice fishing reels. While I was back in New Jersey I purchased two jigging rods and reels. The combos originally were set up with spinning reels. Both of those reels broke after a short time. I stumbled across these Eagle Claw inline reels. They should prevent line twists and the tangles I would get when would open the bail of the spinning reels. The inlines have a free spool button to drop the lures no matter how light. This is all quite new to me. The season is so unreliable in NJ. The few times I have gone I had major twists and tangle issues. Let’s see if these new reels solve the problem. Now I just need some safe ice.

Mother nature is almost ready

/ Tim Burns / 1 Comment

I am really looking forward to ice fishing. In NJ I never really had much chance to do it. The season is a bit short and life would always seem to get in the way. Now with my job change and a December through March season. I will actually have a chance to really get into it. I have studied the rules and reconnoitered a few water bodies in the area. I find myself stopping at any standing water to check to see how much ice is on it. Mother nature is almost ready.

Echo Lake North Conway, NH
You can see the wave action through the ice. The whole ice sheet was undulating