Pachaug pond 1/2

[Jessox80]

After 2 days worth of scouting trips I finally got access to a frozen cove. There were 3-3.5" of ice, with all but the first 1/2" being black ice (where I was anyway).  I had to tend to some of the trappings of society in the am but was set up by about noon. I managed this little guy while putting in my last tip up.


I was fishing 4 or less feet of water with big dead bait, so I wasn't really targeting largies, but it was still nice to clear the skunk off the season so quickly.  I then had two very slow hours with a couple of bump & runs, then caught these on simultaneous flags.




The screen on my camera is cracked from being frozen, so I cannot change the date or see pics until I am home, but thank goodness the next few worked out...

Had a flag at about 3, but as I walked up, the polar was still.  I approached a few steps more and it became a blur.  By the time I had cracked the ice enough to pull up my trap, there was barely any line on the reel and I was spooled before I could take off my gloves. I set the hook as I struggled out of the gloves, and it was forever before I got the fish to the hole. It was hooked only through the fleshy part of the cheek, but was relatively cooperative as I bogus-gripped it out of the water. It was 20lbs!!!!!!! A personal best in weight & tied a personal best in length (39.5).





I released it & turned-another flag!




This one was 13lbs and a great fighter.
With my hands frozen, two tipups a total mess and darkness approaching, I called it. This was likely the best 5 hours of icefishing I have ever had.
It was a beautiful day.


On a disturbing note, I saw a man walking on the ice in an area I would've preferred to fish, but worried was unsafe (maybe 150+ yds away). He was slipping all over the place and didn't seem to have any grips or cleats. I heard him yell and saw him on the surface, but don't know whether he fell through or took a digger. I grabbed my sled & started to high tail it over there, but he was gone before I got close. I had to give up pursuit when  the ice between he & I started to look super-suspect.  I very much hope whoever it was got home safe and sound, but am surprised he was out where he was. Pachaug has a lot of crazy currents, and after icefishing it for almost a decade, I still don't always understand the ins & outs of where the "safe" ice ends... but please be as safe as possible. Don't walk out without proper footware & and a 'worse-case-scenario' plan.

[gadabout]

Awesome pike and real nice pictures. Congrats.

[AustinB]

Great job. Beautiful fish

[camoatv]

nice job where is that pond

[mungo544]

Beautiful fish. Congrats.

[Curley]

Sounds like a nice day.

[eiderz]

Great pictures and report, some mighty nice stinklogs there.

[Global Warming in CT]

Great day for you.  I'm from the area and like to icefish Pachaug, but have never gotten anything even in the high teens (much less 20 lbs) from there.  Guess I'll have to keep trying!  Shoot me a PM if you wanna meet up sometime.

[metalfish]

Congrats, Nice pike!

[JBO112394]

Nice first ice pike.... I got skunked today. 

[Jessox80]

Respect to Connecticut outfitters for their awesome big bait. I am still kind of buzzing from this trip, my pike fishing experiences rarely involve multiple big fish.

At the same time, I keep thinking about that poor guy. I could hear him talking on his cellphone and think he said "oh yeah, it's safe, there's a guy fishing out here right now," just moments before his spill.

I was out there alone, on thin ice, which is not safe at all. At the same time, I knew I wasn't over any deeper than 4.5" at any time and had secured shore access with timber where the weakest ice was.  I had jumped up and down on the ice where I'd be fishing before actually deciding it was okay to fish, and drilled holes every few feet to make sure the ice thickness was consistent.
 
This is a dangerous sport early and I hope everyone does his or her part to make all of our risks calculated. 

[gadabout]

Good points J.

[Penn920]

Alright JessOx congrats! My first trip starts tomorrow hope to get at least one pike flag!

[silverado2500]

nice fish cant wait to catch one of those

[PIKEASORIS]

Congrats Ive been Ice fishing there since I was 14 Im now 52. Caught lots of Monsters there .2 years ago 24 plus pounder.Congrats on your awesome day.Ill be in my cove Saturday Am.Stay Safe and Have Fun. 

[NorthEastFisherman]

Damn what a way to start the season!

[pikePERSUADER1]

Nice dude!

[jss111678]

nice fish jesse i hope to land my first pike on ice this year going out sunday if anyone want to meet up and give me a few pointers...

[JohnKaz]

that is an awesome report. congrats man..

[fishguttts]

what cove

[pikePERSUADER1]

Great report and awesome pics however there will be consequences for mentioning the name of place on a public forum, to get some props.  Expect company....

some people dont care about that, me included, everywhere I fish gets pounded anyway(CTRiver), get out there first and lock your spot up and you'll usually do ok

[icefishingct98]

Hey there will be plenty of places to fish this weekend so i have a felling probaly a dozen a lake...lol

[petrgill]

Great fish and great report.   

And before there was this messageboard there were baitshops that posted the conditions and catches in their shops or on their websites so I guess that would be "Bait Shop Glory".  Yes there are a few "trolls" on here to just find a place to fish but the majority are guys who already have their spots and respect the ice.   Don't let a minority ruin the "fish story"!

[schaffman]

I've been ice fishing for 40 years now, 20 of them in Wisconsin and the last 20 in Connecticut.    I've totally embraced tech, latest flasher, GPS, etc.   And I also post on this site and others.    You are correct there were baitshops before but the access to the internet is much easier than the old fashioned word of mouth.

I am all for sharing success stories.   You guys should be proud of those catches or weird ones, like the guy who caught an Otter.   However Ice fishing has become so much more popular the past few years, so pressure on lakes is greater.    Add to that the changes to the law that all ages  to have 6 lines in the water and a platoon of guys can have an impact on a lake.   

Good luck to all this weekend, Pachaug, Park or where ever you all choose to fish.   Bring your spud bar and check thickness often and be safe.

[metalfish]

Its getting out of hand. I can count 5 maybe more new people on this forum just lookin for ice and I think thats all.

Anyhow Really nice first ice Pike man, A Big Congrats

[Global Warming in CT]

Like the man who caught those monster pike said, tread carefully on Pachaug.  Lots of moving water, especially towards the boat launch and dam.  In years past I've been out there before sunrise on plenty of ice, only to realize that I was walking dangerously close to huge random spots of open water when the sun started to rise.  Very strange how that pond freezes up... I know the lure of jumbo pike is hard to resist, but Pachaug's one of those ponds that you really should be familiar with if you plan on fishing on sketchy ice.  I'm planning on hitting up a different pond in the area this weekend that I know freezes up better, just because I don't want to take a swim.  Hopefully this cold snap continues so that my favorite spot on 'Chaug will be safe!

[That Guy]

I agree but the issues that can arise can go much deeper.  Overharvest, people trashing the ice, the list goes on and on.  In a thread that got obliterated this am some of this was discussed.  "That Guy" started it.  There were some great comments about selling out your spots to get some internet glory.  I wish that thread was still around....

Subsequently I may find myself at Pachaug with 15 of my buddies at 4am Sunday (I don't have any friends) but you get my point I'm sure!

Loose lips sink ships!

I'm mad I didn't get to see it before they deleted it or whatever happened I signed it to see what was goin on and was like where the hell did it go lol o well ill continue to post pictures and reports without naming locations

[Jessox80]

I was going to wait a few days before posting the thread, but seeing the guy fall through (confirmed now) made me want to report.  The only reason I learned how to icefish at all was through info sharing on this site, and a safety hazard like that deemed a rare prompt report from me.
On the subject of "internet glory" I was approached by the DEP last year to participate in a survey regarding the pike stocking program at Pachaug. Many bass anglers evidently feel that pike stocking,  not the tournament practice of removing bass from spawning beds, is responsible for a decline in bass fishing in the lake. I feel like Pachaug needs to be recognized as the outstanding opportunity it is so that the stocking program can get the support it deserves.
On the subject of blowing up my spot, anyone who recognizes the cove from the pics likely already fishes it.
In fact, I reaped the rewards of posting the name today: I met a real cool guy and we shot the breeze while fishing away a slow day. He grew up in the area and recognized the spot.
He took these pics for me as well:




I learned a great deal about salmon fishing, saw some outstanding trout pictures, and scored a delicious half-sandwich too, so lesson learned. 

[baitbig]

There are Monster in ct they been sighted and thanks for tip kid . Great fish keep doing that home work, see ya sun or monday!! let games begin. 

[lowaccord66]

Very nice fish, and you make great points.  I am going to de-clutter the thread by removing my off topic comments.  Keep up the good work.  Also while I am not a torney fisherman you'd be remiss to not understand apex predators like those pike take a whack on the bass population.  If the tourneys had a major roll places like candlewood would have had no bass a long time ago with the number of tourneys they run there.