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Date: February 5, 2023 Body of Water: Upper Range Pond - Poland, Maine Moon Phase: Full Moon Boat: None, this was ice fishing With: P and N, local friends Target: Trout, but happy to accept anything Time: 11 AM - 3:45 PM Conditions: A day after a historic cold front, including local temperatures down to -20 degrees F or so the day before; mixed clouds and sun; generally mild southerly wind and 20 - 32 degrees. About 11 inches of ice and a fair number of folks out fishing! Winter was late to arrive this season, and other than having my gear prepped and ready to go, I hadn't really even thought of ice fishing until after the passage of this most recent cold front. I figured the two nights below zero and daily highs in single digits had firmed up the ice, and I found a solid 11 inches on Upper Range ("Rang") Pond. I've fished this attractive pond three times before from my boats, and have had some success each time. A two-story fishery with a variety of trout species and reasonable access, it's a popular choice for "early" ice. There was a vague plan that a couple of local friends, P and N, would join me. Having picked up a couple of dozen smelt at Sebago Bait, I was greeted at the access by N, his wife J, and their dog "Tek". The narrows between the lake proper and the launch was crowded with tip-ups (N and J had caught a fine brookie through the ice here in 2022), and we saw a group with kids running between flags. We continued our walk past a small island. I knew a rocky and weedy reef stretched off this structure, and I'd caught trout on the troll in this area. It seemed like a good place to start for my inaugural ice adventure here and for 2023! By the crack of 11 AM, my five traps were set. There'd been no real sense in starting earlier, it was still cold and a bit breezy! I had a couple of traps in 5 or 6 feet of water, one nearby in 16, and two others near the reef break in 10 and 21 feet. A lively smelt swam beneath each trap, and I was mildly surprised to not have experienced any action by the time these were set. Meanwhile, N and J set their allotted traps with native shiners nearby. We'd saved one hole for jigging. We set up in the local "basin" of 21 feet. I had two fish swim by, right along bottom, but these showed no interest in the flashing spoon-and-smelt-head. Unfortunately, we saw nothing suspended. Based on this, after 15 minutes, I placed my deepest trap bait right on bottom. And then we waited for a while. Nothing happened. P found us and took over jig duty. Nothing happened. All the while, Tek demanded my attention and retrieved his rubber throw toy over and over and over. At about 12:30, having drilled and scouted additional holes, checking and adjusting all baits and having moved a couple of traps to the other (inside) edge of the reef into about 12 feet of water, the work paid off. FLAG! One of these new locations had resulted in some action. Quite a bit of line had been taken off, but I was disappointed to find nobody home. As I re-set the bait, a fish ate my descending smelt out of my hand. After a brief run, it dropped the bait again. Oh well, I had plenty of bait, and a new smelt went down the hole. Shortly thereafter, the same flag popped again. This time, the spool was turning, and I came tight to a fish. Soon enough, I had color at the hole. It wasn't my desired trout, but rather a 13 or 14-inch largemouth bass. Good enough, this was my first fish of 2023, and my first ever largemouth bass on a smelt! For a while, this area was hot! I added a third trap to the vicinity to try to take the most advantage. Ultimately, I landed three largemouths between about 13 and 15 inches out of a dozen or more flags. The action was concentrated in two waves around 1 and 3 PM. Some were just simple drops, but a few took a lot of line before doing so, and I felt the weight of two other fish before they came unbuttoned. All the while, only two other traps sprang to life, and each was just a drive-by. I took some crap from the group for harassing bass when we were trout fishing, but was I really supposed to abandon this area when virtually nothing else was going on? For our group, or the others within range, too? What do I have to say about this? With a couple of new fishing buddies, solid ice, moderating temperatures and plenty of action, this was a good outing! While we didn't find the trout we'd hoped for, when that flag flies, for a few moments, one thinks it could really be ... anything! Especially when the spool was turning at a steady clip, I couldn't help but remember fine trout from the past. All the gear worked, too, with no problems. Standing on the ice and walking 15,000 steps left me a bit stiff and sore. But that's a small price for some quality time on the water. Plus, I was reminded several times; I now live in Maine. The setting was beautiful, and the "crowd" was pretty inconsequential. I've got lots of learning to do, but it should be a pleasant experience for me. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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