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Date: February 12, 2022 Body of Water: Trickey Pond - Naples, Maine Moon Phase: Full Moon minus four days; waxing gibbous moon Boat: None - Ice fishing With: A Target: Trout or Landlocked Salmon Time: 10 AM - 1 PM Conditions: Increasing sun with some gusty southerly wind; 45-50 degrees F after a warm night; slow going with lots of sloppy slush on the ice I wanted to try this pond based on known access, the presence of splake trout, and proximity to home. At just over 300 acres, Trickey is large enough to be interesting, but small enough to potentially figure out. After grabbing some bait at Sebago Bait and Tackle, we drove north to the access point. I was surprised to find a dozen or so rigs filling the parking lot; others had the same idea, and there's clearly some interest in this fishery. I found a spot at the margins of the access and we hit the ice. About half the people were out over the deep basin; the others were spread along the shoreline to the right. Since I wanted to try a variety of depths, we went along this shoreline. Having passed a couple of groups, the snow and slush got deeper and we bogged down. I set a line of tip-ups from 6 feet of water right against shore to about 48 feet of water. I couldn't really go any deeper without infringing upon a pelagic group's set of traps. With traps set at 6, 10, 30, 40 and 48 feet, I drilled a pair of holes for jigging at 21 and 32 feet. Most were set with the smelt half-way down; for the deepest, I placed the smelt just a few feet under the ice. Other than moving the shallowest out to 14 feet about half-way through the session, this is where we stayed. I adjusted the depths on various traps and maintained lively smelts. The slush was just too much to try to move around, very much, and A's feet were already wet, so I knew we wouldn't last long. Just as I got A set for jigging in 21 feet, the 30-foot flag flew. A drive-by pulled about 10 feet of line off the spool before dropping the smelt. I tipped a horizontal jig with a lightly-hooked smelt and jigged in 32 feet. After tapping bottom a few times and raising my bait, a fish moved in almost immediately. I raised this fish to about 20 feet down before it struck. But it simply plucked the smelt off my hook and faded away. Shortly thereafter, A got hit a few cranks off the bottom. But the fish came off before she saw it. We'd struck out; we would end up leaving the ice with no further action, skunked. What do I have to say about this? The slush was a major hindrance, but the warmth and sun was the ticket to get A out. It was a great, comfortable trip, if one can overlook the debilitating slush conditions. And we had our chances; the line between a skunk and some success is pretty fine. Clearly we were not over a lot of fish and so I doubt that we had experienced the best of Trickey Pond. With a little better luck, we could have scored. Despite the skunk, I liked this pond and will return. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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