Northern VT Ice Fishing
 

I hit this ice this past weekend for the first time this year on Lake Champlain. Had to ride a couple of miles to get to the lake. I caught a 26" and a 28" northern. Never got a pic of them. More pics to come though seeming I go out every weekend.

Attachment 16605


My quad
Attachment 16606

Attachment 16607

Attachment 16608

Attachment 16609

Attachment 16610

Attachment 16611

On our way back to the trucks and trailers.
Attachment 16612

Nice man looks good out there its to icy to ride out here for now so we have to pull our sleds not to bad but no catches only been out twice.

Love VT for Northern Pike. Caught a 33" out of Lake Hortonia and my son got a 29" out of Lake Dunmore. Great pics.

Thats the same conditions we have here in Sault Ste. Marie Ontario,Canada. The people who bought there $250 snowmobile trail permits are crying since no trails are open yet.

nice pics ;)

I'd be skiddish as hell on the ice around here (douglas, mass)- most lakes don't even have ice on them or just a real thin layer of ice.

Highgate is on the Northern end of Lake Champlain. It's been pretty seasonal up there from what I can see.

Same down here in Rhode Island... I have the ice fishing itch but didn't think it'd be worth a trip to VT... Now that I see you guys have a great layer of ice I may have to take a ride up! Sold my 4x4 suzuki 500cc in October and only have an off brand 2x4 250cc utility with winch for now not sure it would be good enough up there though.

Anyways, Great pics glad to see some New Englanders in here!


Mike from RI

How much ice do you guys have there?

Here in Minnesota we are still waiting for winter to come. We have 3-6" of ice, you will not catch me on the ice with my wheeler yet.

Thanks guys!

As of last weekend 1/7 & 1/8:
Lake Champlain Lapans Bay (St. Albans, VT) 7"
Lake Champlain St. Albans Bay 5"
Lake Carmi (Franklin, VT) 8"

I heard this past weekend:
Lake Champlain Mississquoi Bay (Highgate, VT) 1 foot.

I never did make it out this past weekend because I came down with a massive head cold and havent done a thing and it pisses me off because the ice is now really nice and Im stuck in the house trying to feel better.

Im sure theres more ice out there now seeming its been below zero for the past few nights and in the single numbers during the day.

Last I knew the snowmobile trails where not open around here. We got 6" of snow Friday and thats the most we have got all year.

Highgate only has 6" of snow??? Wow. We've had a snow drought here too. Nothing on the ground in the Lowell, MA area.

Only snow we have seen in Rhode island so far was in October! Quite different from last winter, I kept my boat on the water until last weekend this year! I'd really like to see some this year! Got a brand new snowblower in september, It's just waiting (figures because last year all I had was a shovel!) haha.

Keep those pics coming, they're awesome!

Mike

Yeah only 6"!! We are in a serious snow drought. Go figure, last year we got hammered with storm after storm and I shoveled by hand. Now that I have the quad I've taken it out twice to plow and the first time there wasnt really enough to say so. I figured I might as well go out and play with it. The 6" is the most I've plowed with it. It was actually fun.


I do plan on posting more pics as I go out. Ill be out there next weekend seeming Im now feeling better. I know how you feel, buy a new toy to clear the driveway off it doesnt snow! ha ha

Fished Lake Champlain this past weekend. I ranged from 10'-15". Caught about 50 decent perch and put about 15 miles on my quad. Theres about an inch of snow on the ice which makes it perfect for traction. As for snow though, still lacking it. Its actually pouring out right now and is 40 degrees!

Looking across St. Albans Bay.
Attachment 16565

A local guy likes to fly.
Attachment 16566

After coming off the ice I stopped at my buddies pub along the lake to catch some of the Patriots/Ravens game. The quad is dirty from trailering it in the slush and road grime. Seeming its so warm out I gave it a bath tonight.
Attachment 16567

The ice ranged 10"-15". Not 10 feet like in my previous post lol

Awesome pics again! I especially like the one of your ATV parked at the pub! I wish I lived in such a town where you can ride your ATV down the road to the local pub to catch the game and a bite to eat haha.. In RI we can't even ride on trails yet alone around town! I do a lot of camping in Maine and NH throughout the year and I think a winter seasonal camp site up north is in order within the next few years. Great pics looks like fun... We need fish pics too!

Mike

This is a decent place with no taxes. I believe it's in an unincorporated township. It is right on the Success trails that lead into Berlin and, from there, to Jericho Lake ATV Park. If I had the money I'd buy it.

100 Success Road, Success NH 03570 | 2 bed 1 bath $64,900 | MLS# 4085990 | Bean Group

Thanks! Yeah it is pretty nice to be able to ride down the road without being bothered by the cops. We have trails up here that local ATV clubs and the state of Vermont manage called VASA (Vermont All Terrain Vehicle Sportsman Asscociation) Pics of those rides will come this summer. Next time I catch some fish Ill make sure I take pics!!

Here are a couple pretty cool shots from Lake Champlain today. The ice looks and was pretty crappy because of warm weather and rain. There's a foot of ice but on top of it is a couple inches of water and slush. I did notice though as we were leaving the ice it was starting to freeze up more. Didn't take any pics of the fish because all I could come up with was a 4" perch. Pretty quiet day out there but it was fun. The pics are looking west towards New York. The Adirondack Mountains are in the background.
Attachment 16554

Attachment 16555

In that light it looks like tire tracks in wet sand.

Real nice pictures and beautiful country. Know what you mean about the ice. I normally ice fish most every day for 3 months but this year its been just this last 7 days and the day temps 40 with tomorrow 50. No 4 wheelers here. Be careful.

Thanks. Yeah here its been pretty warm, 30's for several days in a row. We havent been below zero too much this year which is really strange. I dont plan on heading back out until next weekend so Im sure it will tighten up by then.

It has been a bit strange. We had some really cold weather in October. November was about normal and December and January have been warm. We've been on the Eastern side of weather fronts which means we get the warm air travelling up the coast.

We're having some unusually warm weather in Michigan this winter. Yesterday I plowed snow for the first time and tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 56*. Maybe it's global warming, maybe it's not, but this is the warmest winter in my lifetime. It's sure hard to ice fish when it's in the 40s and 50s. :)

Went out on Lake Champlain Saturday. Had a slow day but did manage to get a 28" 6.5lb northern.

Attachment 16517

Crystal clear afternoon with a temp around 30 degrees looking across Lapans Bay.
Attachment 16518

Looking across St. Albans Bay with the Green Mountains in the background covered in snow. Wish I had taken this pic closer to the lake. As for the snow on the ground theres not much left because it was almost 50 degrees today.
Attachment 16519

Spent the whole weekend out on the Lake Champlain. Caught a 4 northern pike.

Heading to the ice at 5 am Saturday.
Attachment 16502

One of the 4 pike I caught.
Attachment 16503

Our camp we set up.
Attachment 16504

The trailer we slept in. It even had power.
Attachment 16505

Gotta have a fire.
Attachment 16506

The moon at about 3:00 Sunday morning. It was about -3*F.
Attachment 16507

Biggest pike I ever caught was 33" on Lake Hortonia in VT. Of course my brother conveniently lost the picture. Grrrr...

That was a 33" pike in that pic from last weekend which is my largest one I've ever caught.

I havent been out ice fishing for three weeks now. There goes my plan to go out every weekend. Work has kept me too busy. My plan is to go out next weekend. The ice is getting pretty thin in spots. I wont be taking my quad out. The temps have been all over the place. From 0 at night to 50 during the day and we have gotten about 6 inches of heavy wet snow and some rain. Its just been a really weird winter.

With temps in the 50's to almost 60 this week, this past Saturday was my last time out on the ice. Had a pretty good day out there. Now that it's over I'm itching to get on the trails.
Attachment 16465

great pics! I miss doing some ice fishing back in Nebraska...not too much ice out here in virginia!

Thanks!

ahhh.......my ice fishing pics. Went out only twice last winter. Took the quad out once, walked out the other time. Was just too busy to get out. Well thats gonna change this coming season! I've started getting my stuff ready while its still somewhat warm out. Stay tuned for some pics come January!!

Hit the ice last weekend for the first time this season. Got out a bit earlier than normal due to cold temps. There was 14" of ice! Normally there's about 6" out there at this time. And by now there much more. Its been below 0 F for the past 3 days!

Been out ice fishing every weekend this season, 8 times! Here's a few pics from a couple of weeks ago. Caught a 33" 7lb northern.

Nice Northern! What lake were you fishing? We've got some nice Pike out of Lake Hortonia and Lake Dunmore.

Thanks! It came from Lake Champlain.

Went out Saturday for the last day of the season. I caught a 30" 7.2lb and a 35" 11.6lb pike.

Wow, nice pike!!!

Thanks! 11.6 is the biggest I've ever caught.

Biggest I caught was 33" out of Lake Hortonia. I never did weigh it. My brother took a picture with his digital camera before I put it back in. Of course, he lost the picture on his computer before he could send it to me.