|
Date: February 23, 2020 Body of Water: Lake Winnipesaukee - Meredith, New Hampshire; out of Leavitt Beach Park Moon Phase: New Moon Boat: None, Ice fishing With: Alone Target: Lake Trout Time: 7 AM - 2 PM Conditions: Calm, clear and bright, temperatures increasing from 15 to 46 degrees F; ice had about 4 inches of snow cover and was 12 - 14 inches thick. As I approached my exit on 93 North after 90 miles of moonless, pre-dawn driving, there was just enough light to support the mountains' silhouettes on the horizon. This served as a reminder of the beauty of my destination, Lake Winnipesaukee. With derbies near (Newfound Lake) and far (Sebago Lake in Maine), AJ's was out of smelt, even though I had arrived just a few minutes after their 6 AM opening. I left with an assortment of shiners, suckers and hair jigs. The lack of smelt diminished my confidence a bit, but I also knew that lakers were often not choosy when they were on the feed. I'd chosen Leavitt Beach Park as my access point based on recommendation of AJ's via the most recent report from On the Water magazine. It was a new destination for me, but it offered lots of promise upon my arrival. I'd already scouted the area on my Lakemaster mapping; I wanted to work the edge of a sunken island (topping out at 24 feet or so), out along a series of breaks to the main lake basin in about 100 feet of water. At first, I thought a shanty was already set up on top of the island, but once I gained my bearings and sense of scale, I realized that I would have my water of choice, all to myself. I quickly had my two traps baited with shiners and set near bottom in about 60 and 80 feet of water. As I watched my bait descend to the bottom in the 60-foot hole with my sonar, a fish clearly rose from the bottom to investigate the bait. I stood by, patiently, expecting my first flag of the day, excited about the possibilities. But, when the flag had not sprung after five or ten minutes, I wandered away to drill some extra holes. These ranged from 35 feet deep and out to an inside corner of the main lake basin in 99 feet. I sprinkled several additional holes in the 60-90 foot range, too. Despite my best efforts, it turned into a fishless day. I frequently substituted a jigging presentation for one of the tip-ups, and each hole was given plenty of opportunity to produce. I saw 7 or 8 fish on the screen all day. Most simply evaporated from the screen quickly; a few stayed on my lure for a bit longer. I teased one fish at least 15 feet off the bottom, and I was certain it was going to eat; but it didn't. A solitary suspended fish (maybe 40 feet down over 60 feet of water) stayed with my lure for a couple of minutes or longer before it drifted away. As far as I could tell, a fish never touch my tube jig, hair jig or flashy Hopkins spoon. The fish I saw seemed to be in a negative mood; as far as I know, on another day, at least some of them would have been eaters. What do I have to say about this? I think it was just one of those days; they weren't biting. I saw nobody else with any semblance of action; I overheard a few complaints from upwind; and the folks I came off the ice with had all been skunked, too. I think I was making reasonable presentations in a reasonably likely area. Maybe it was simply too darned nice out to be productive, at all. That said, I have no real basis for explaining away my lack of action. This was my first time out on Lake Winnipesaukee's ice, ever. I've got a lot of learning to do, and it looks like I will have to do that learning one trip at a time. At the very least, I learned that this is a viable day trip, on par with my Okemos-based adventures to Lake St. Clair. This area will definitely be worth learning! But New Hampshire has a boater's license requirement; and so, if I am smart, I will get that out of the way before open water season. It may cost me a day on the ice, but it will be an investment in my future New Hampshire fishing efforts. I've got some plans! Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Steve LachanceRI --> NH --> MI-->MA-->ME Archives
June 2024
Categories
All
|
Proudly powered by Weebly