Nice Day at the DAR

[bogtrotter]

My younger son and I fished Upper Highland Lake at the DAR State Forest in Goshen today from a little after 10 AM to 5 PM.

The weather was warm (about 50 degrees) and overcast for most of the day, although it cleared up and the sun came out in the mid afternoon.

There was about 7 or 8 inches of ice. 

Originally, there was a couple inches of snow over the ice, but as the day went on it melted, leaving a film of about a half inch of water on top.

The action was comparatively slow and sporadic, so we passed the time chatting with a bunch of our "neighbors," who hailed from an assortment of locations (Hadley/Northampton/Buckland/Chesterfield/Ware).  Special shout out to Andy, Rashad and Eric!

Around noon, I cooked and ate lunch (beef stew, fried egg, roast beef, cous cous salad, and an apple) and washed it down with a bottle of Rugged Brown Mountain Ale (by Shed Brewery) followed by a pot of hot coffee.  Afterward, I smoked a Don Elias cigar.

We had a few flags, but they were generally of the "hit, grab a foot of line, and then drop it" variety. 

I also had one decent hit while jigging, but muffed the hook set.

My son did a bit better, landing four perch (two on tip ups, and two while jigging).

Finally, toward the end (around 4 PM) he felt so bad for me that he let me take one of his flags, and I pulled in a 12" brown trout to ward off the dreaded skunk.

[scooper47]

Be careful drinking alcohol in a state park. It's against the law.

[Steve H.]

Aces when the brown trumps the skunk.

[lowaccord66]

Be careful drinking alcohol in a state park. It's against the law.

Not if you are the law!

[Johnnyfish101]

Oh, you're one of those law I guys I have ABSOUTELY No RESPECT FOR
Abuse of power.
A guy who got picked on and couldn't stand up for himself.
So you became a law guy

That's OK
80% of law guys fo this.

Dont deny it the way you BLAINTALY posted how your a law guy.

[Iceassin]

Oh, you're one of those law I guys I have ABSOUTELY No RESPECT FOR
Abuse of power.
A guy who got picked on and couldn't stand up for himself.
So you became a law guy

That's OK
80% of law guys fo this.

Dont deny it the way you BLAINTALY posted how your a law guy.

  Huh?

[lowaccord66]

Oh, you're one of those law I guys I have ABSOUTELY No RESPECT FOR
Abuse of power.
A guy who got picked on and couldn't stand up for himself.
So you became a law guy

That's OK
80% of law guys fo this.

Dont deny it the way you BLAINTALY posted how your a law guy.

Hey snowflake....its a joke.  I am not a LEO, and you spelled blatantly wrong while trying to win at a friendly game of internet.

[V Menzone]

Oh, you're one of those law I guys I have ABSOUTELY No RESPECT FOR
Abuse of power.
A guy who got picked on and couldn't stand up for himself.
So you became a law guy

That's OK
80% of law guys fo this.

Dont deny it the way you BLAINTALY posted how your a law guy.

    you and Jon lowaccord should set up a time and place to sort this out over some arm wrestling or old fashion throw some hands.

[lowaccord66]

    you and Jon lowaccord should set up a time and place to sort this out over some arm wrestling or old fashion throw some hands.

I'd like a challenge Vin.  Snowflakes melt to easy.

[IceDog88]

Bog- Great that you were able to salvage the day with a nice fish and the weather good with a nice lunch and beverage. Never fished that lake, but was wondering if you had ever fished the lower and if there is preference in either besides some variations in species.

[Johnnyfish101]

1st.
I must apologize to ANYONE on this board if I offended anyone. 
Word and texts are so non-emotional and people often mistake and think I'm trolling or starting to cause issues. 😮‍💨🙄

For that:
I'm sorry and apologize.
I will try to add emojis to show I'm not being insulting. 

2nd- yes I realize I spelled blatantly wrong,
Embarrassing  : fat fingers small screen on my phone.
I'll try to proof read more in future.

No. No need to throw down or arm wrestle.

It was only how the comment was made about the law.
That was it.
Not looking to start any issues here...

Again no throwing down or arm wrestling.
Fish off sure! 

Just dam frustrating watching ice build up to watch it leave.
And I really don't want to travel for hard water.

Again to all that I offended.
I'm sorry.
Good luck out there and tite lines!

[bogtrotter]

Bog- Great that you were able to salvage the day with a nice fish and the weather good with a nice lunch and beverage. Never fished that lake, but was wondering if you had ever fished the lower and if there is preference in either besides some variations in species.

No, I have never fished the Lower Lake, mainly because I'm uncertain where to park to get direct access to it, and unwilling to walk all the way across Upper to get to it.

That being said, my understanding (from word of mouth and/or the Internet) is that the Lower Lake (a) does not get as much pressure as the Upper (due to the aforementioned access issue, I think) and (b) has more small mouth but fewer trout. 

But, again, having never fished it myself, I may well be wrong.

[lowaccord66]

Jim your assertions about the lower lake are correct.  Much less pressure and less non-fishing interlopers.  For now at least.  DAR use to be an early ice spot Id dust the cobwebs off at.  It saw too much play here and got busy so I found a new spot.

[IceDog88]

Yes and I understand that sometimes there’s not the best way to access spots. At some point in my ice fishing travels that way, I will try to investigate.

[scooper47]

Jim your assertions about the lower lake are correct.  Much less pressure and less non-fishing interlopers.  For now at least.  DAR use to be an early ice spot Id dust the cobwebs off at.  It saw too much play here and got busy so I found a new spot.

Lower Highland Lake is surrounded by private property. In the 70s, I just drove down a private road, parked, and walked between two houses. I wouldn't try that today. There are two problems getting on it to ice fish. The road to the lake, a right turn just after the gate house, is not plowed in the winter and the plower builds up a snow bank to stop cars. If you take the long walk to the lake, you will find that two brooks enter the lake at that spot, making ice formation impossible until well into the season. I've seen some people drag their stuff through the dense woods, and I tried it. Not worth the effort. My buddy and I fish there every year and haven't caught anything in years.

[IceDog88]

Well that would make it much more difficult for access if you can’t drive into to access. And sorry to hear that the fishing is not as good on the lower lake.