This afternoon, I joined Mogli, his girlfriend, his buddy Nick and Nick's two small children on Shaw Pond in Becket.
The only other time I fished Shaw Pond was a year or two ago, when I went there solo, and (if I recall correctly) didn't have any bites that time.
Today, I arrived around 12 noon, and joined Mogli and his friends in progress.
The weather was overcast, with temps in the low to mid 30's, and a slight wind. As the afternoon went on, it started to flurry.
There was about 8 inches of ice under an inch or two of snow.
But, over the course of the afternoon, the ice started to soften, and wet spots appeared, even though it wasn't very warm, evidently from the weight and blanket effect of the snow.
We had a few flags - - mostly of the "drop taker" variety (as in the fish would take the bait and drop it - - I realize this should probably be rendered "take dropper," but that just does not sound right) - - which resulted in our landing a few pickerel and one perch.
We also caught some perch and sunfish jigging.
I caught the oddball fish of the day - - an 11" bullhead (my first ever through the ice) that I reeled in on a jig.
While the fishing wasn't spectacular, it was at least acceptable - - and the company was pleasant - - so, together with a new species and a new pond to add to my "list," I'll count today in my "win" column.
