Harriman Reservoir Ice Fishing Derby

[JMO]

Derby is being held on unsafe ice  dates: February 27th and 28th
Derby starts 7:00am on Sat. Feb 27th and ends at 3:pm Sun. Feb 28th 2010

[CJiceaddict]

What do you mean unsafe ice? How can anyone know the ice conditions a month out? Maybe I misunderstood?

CJ

[JMO]

I am guessing because there is still open water at the south end they decided to postpone it.  Was originally scheduled for Feb 6-7. 

[CJiceaddict]

I get it now. Being held as in being postponed. Hopefully the ice will be good by then, I would like to do that derby this year.
Thanks for the updated derby info

CJ

[lennyvt]

Derby is being held on unsafe ice  dates: February 27th and 28th
Derby starts 7:00am on Sat. Feb 27th and ends at 3:pm Sun. Feb 28th 2010

just wondering were you got your info JMO?

[freaknasty7]

i heard it from the local gamer. i guess the south end is pretty much open. with the derby being postponed and them upping the price of the derby ticket, i dont see them having much of a good outcome this year.

[bad1vt]

i also was told that there not giving away any of  the normal big prizes ,the $10g tagged fish,wheeler-snomoblie the two top prizes are fishning trips

[JMO]

just wondering were you got your info JMO?

It is on the website.  Also the prizes are listed there.  Tagged fish are 30,50,100.  Fishing trips are raffle prizes.

http://www.dvscvt.com/derby.html

[freaknasty7]

doesnt even seem worth the hassle to fish that derby anymore. the lakes fisherie is going to crap and not only that evey year it seems the prizes are less and less. must mean all that money they get from tickets is going to the state

[ice hole bill]

my buddies and I stopped going to this derby 2 yrs. ago. We went for 10 yrs in a row. We now fish the great benson derby in lake champlain. The derby there is awsome I highly recommend it. It's Feb 20-21. It's 3 hours from my house but worth the trip.

[freaknasty7]

i know i've got to find something different. tht might be worth a shot going up there.

[buckshot464]

I agree that the Harriman derby has gone down hill in the past ten years.  They let things get carried away, the price mostly and the prizes don't match.   To many cops around harrasing everyone for having a good time and more game wardens than fisherman.    I have fished the derby every year they have had it and I do consider myself a good fisherman however I have never had the luck of catching a tagged fish during any derby.  Thats 30 some years and not a derby prize ever. Thats got to be more than just bad luck.  I know the fishing in general sucks on harriman but unfortunatly I live right beside it.   I try every year to get on the biologists to help out this gem of a lake but they never seem to try anything.  I tried to get them to introduce walleye and see if they would take but that would take a signature of Obama to get done.  oh well thats why I travel to Champlain every chance I get.
Good luck to those that fish the derby
Ben

[lennyvt]

I have only fished harriman 5 times in my life and every time was ice fishing. The first time I went I lost a few (what felt like nice sized fish)fish and landed a ton of dink perch. The second time there I caught a nice 15 inch brookie 1 pound and a ton of dink perch. The third trip I landed a 17" salmon. 4&5th trip were for one of the derbys my buddie caught a tagged rainbow first place, also got second place perch and another friend got a half pound brookie.  not to bad there, I dont think as many people fish there as compared to other lakes of that size (my opinion)

[lennyvt]

A good friend of my family fished the derby 15- 20 years ago and caught a 3 pound brown trout that got hit by something else when he finnally got the trout out of the whole the second half of the fish was eatin off, he placed on the board with a 4 pounder that was probally a 7 pounder. I wonder what hit it?

[buckshot464]

Probably and otter, I saw one pulled out of a hole one time and it was on the hook, the fisherman had his hands full i tell ya! ha ha  what a site!

[grasspikerel]

I fished it last year for the derby.  We had a good time.  Four people, and four very cold wet feet.  It was really slushy.  We caught a small laker, 2 big brookies and a bunch of perch and rock bass.  I missed winning money by 2 oz.

I'm bummed that I'll be in Florida on the make up dates.  I try to fish the derby every year.  I hope people will post reports. 

[freaknasty7]

i agree with you buckshot, i think they should try to see if the walleyes take in harriman. as for the derby, i have fished there for probably 10 years now and i have never caught a tagged fish. sometimes i wonder if they really do put as many taggers in there as they say they do... i have caught nice trout there in the past, but they are few and far between it seems. i have seen otters come through the ice on somerset res. that was an interesting battle.. wheni came through the hole it started snapping at my buddy, ran around for a bit the dove back down the hole and snapped his line

[wilec]

I've heard a lot of complaining about that derby over the years.  They at one time published the tagged fish caught.  One year ONLY ONE was caught and another year 13.  It seemed to flucuate but seemed to ave low 20's.  One year they had put the tagged fish in and had to cancel the derby just days before it was scheduled.  Well they re-stocked it a couple of weeks later before the make up date and guys were not happy when they were told the tagged fish they were catching were the wrong batch.  I fished the derby about 10 years and caught one tagged fish. $25.00.  One year that derby cost $32.00!!!  I got tired of all the other shananagins at that derby and fished there on derby weekend by myself without entering the derby.  A derby official comes by to check my derby ticket and i told him i was not in the derby.  Can you imagine the idiot told me i really needed to be in the derby if i wanted to be out there fishing on that weekend.  What a jerk I told him very loudly in not very nice words that he should leave, he left.  I later waived over a game warden and told him the deal.  What became of it, probably nothing.  I can imagine it is rather difficult running a derby but... that derby at one time had over 1000 entries but there were many unhappy people with those folks at one time or another.  One year a guy catches the $10,000 fish and apparently was cheating ( fish Finder ) it went to court and i can't remember  who won.  I always wondered where all the money went especially the years they only had tagged fish for prizes and that money was paid out by the sponser if the fish was caught.  $25.00 a head and 1000 guys is $25,000!!!

[buckshot464]

I hear what your saying about the derby,  but I will clear one thing up.  The rod and gun club that puts this derby on is a very good cause.   They host a hunter safety course , kids fishing derbies and many other kid oriented things as well as keeping the only shooting range around open.   I also know for a fact that they are as broke as every other organization out there. 
  Just want to point that out even though I think the derby could use some restructuring, the rod and gun club is still a good organization for sportsman.
 

[JMO]

Anyone know if there is still open water on Harriman?

[freaknasty7]

i believe its all froze up now. down by the fairy is a little iffy. lots of chunks of ice from all the rain