Sierra_Smitty
03-01-2009, 03:57 PM
With a little time off before the Fred Hall show, I decided to visit my sisters - both of whom live back east. First stop was New Hampshire - where my sister Lindsey lives. Naturally, I'm not traveling all the way accross the damn country without fishing - but I wasn't about to haul a bunch of gear out there either. My sister Lindsey has a lot in common with us Smith boys in that she loves to fish and is not a pansy like you might expect from a 20 year old girl originally from the OC. Thank God! We were on a mission to find a guide.
So, I finally got in touch with a guide who does ice fishing - he works an area that is referred to as the " Lakes Region" of New Hampshire. The most famous lake in this area is called Lake Winnipesaukee - well known for big Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout and land locked Atlantic Salmon. The bite is hit or miss this time of year and I was more interested in catching some new species and trying a new type of fishing so we chose to fish a place called Mirror Lake near a town called Wolfeboro. This turned out to be a great decision as we caught 4 species of fish through the ice - including two species that I'd never caught before....and we caught a TON of fish. We also happened to be the only people on the entire lake - which is something that as a rule, I thoroughly enjoy.
The guide we went with was Shawn Marzerka who owns Woods-n-Water Guide Service. Dude did a great job, put us on fish, worked hard for us and was a very pleasant guy to fish with - which I appreciate in a guide. It's one thing to know what you're doing, but it sure helps when you're also personable and know how to show your customers a good time...and he excelled at everything.
Anyhow - we met up with Shawn at 0800 on Thursday - it was an hour drive from Concord, NH where my sister lives to the fishing area and Shawn assured us that an early start wasn't necessary so we definately enjoyed the chance to sleep in AND enjoy good fishing.
We parked the cars right at the shore - Shawn apparently knows a guy who has a place by the lake, which made life a lot easier. Shawn loaded up his sled with the bait, traps, power auger, tackle, chairs and drinks and off we went.
For those of you that haven't done the ice fishing thing - I know it seems wierd to just walk out onto a lake. I know I was trippin the first time I walked out on the ice - but having done it at South Lake, it was no big deal up there - especially when I heard the ice was a full 2ft thick. The conditions were less than ideal according to Shawn because there was at least a foot of snow on top of the ice, but we didn't mind at all. It actually reminded me of spring at Parchers so I rather enjoyed it.
Shawn got to drilling right away - those power augers are amazing - 2ft of ice was nothing for this thing.
For those that don't know (like me before this trip) the way a lot of folks ice up there is using what are called Tip-Ups or traps. They consist of a spool of braided line with about 6ft of leader. THis is attached to a wood contraptions that spreads accross the hole to keep it from falling in. To that, a flag is bent over and a mechanism near the spool releases the flag when you get bit. Anglers are allowed 6 traps per person in New Hampshire. I think the most we had out at one time was 6 or 7 though because the fishing was just too good...and besides, you do a lot of walking (or running) to and from traps when you get bit so having 12 traps out would have been one hell of a workout! When you get bit, you pick up the trap and basically hand-line the fish in. These fish will run on you so you have to be careful when using your bare hands as your drag - one mistake and the fish breaks you off. We broke off a lot of fish, including a few very heavy fish.
Shawn our guide baiting a tip-up
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149126_6144061.jpg
Lindsey fighting a fish
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145941_7378936.jpg
Myself fighting a fish
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149131_2713869.jpg
The action started right away - even though the first hole was more or less an exploratory hole to check our depth. Eventually we moved out to a bit deeper water but we caught fish from 6ft all the way out to 12-15ft.
Our first few fish were Pickerel - which are pretty much a smaller Pike. According to Shawn they get to 30 inches in this lake. We didn't get any quite that large but we did get some big ones. I don't know exactly how many we caught over the course of the day but it was a butt load.
Myself with a pickerel - we caught a lot this sized, a lot smaller and I broke off one much bigger before photographing it. Very fun fish - toothy critters too! hahaha!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145934_4352884.jpg
Linds with a Pickerel
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145942_7903464.jpg
Shawn with a pickerel Linds caught
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149129_7022236.jpg
After a few Pickerel we started getting into the Yellow Perch, including a few that Shawn referred to as "Jumbo Perch". I'd seen guys on TV catching these things and had always heard how delicious they were - so I was thrilled to get them. These fish aren't tuna - but they're fun to catch anyways.
My first ever yellow perch
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149128_6219595.jpg
Myself with a yellow perch - cool looking fish huh?
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145937_982492.jpg
Linds with a jumbo perch
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145940_4872656.jpg
Perch closeup
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145943_2516790.jpg
Shawn was hoping we would get into some of the big bass they have in Mirror Lake - including LMB upwards of 7lbs and some chunky smallies as well. Unfortunately we never got into any huge bass, but both Lindsey and I landed LMB in the neighborhood of 2lbs.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145936_5175219.jpg
Lil' Sis with a LMB
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145938_8228291.jpg
I also caught a chunky Bluegill - which was a big surprise! It doesn't look very impressive in my massive paws but it was a pretty nice panfish.
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149130_3044008.jpg
I wanted to experience as much of this ice fishing thing as I could so we also did some vertical jigging with plastic and metal jigs - we ended up with 3 jig fish in about an hour of jigging. Two of the larger Pickerel were taken on the jigs - even with the frigid water, those things are a lot of fun!!!!!
We called it a day about 3pm because my sister had to get back to Concord for class but I could have stayed out there all day. THe weather was perfect - cool, calm and beautiful. We did have some snow flurries on and off in the morning but because there was no wind, it was very pleasant. By the afternoon, it was partly cloudy and about as perfect a day as you can ask for from a winter day in New England.
I can't say enough about how enjoyable a day it was fishing with my little sis. I have yet to find a type of fishing that I don't enjoy and this was no exception. Great memories, a great learning experience, great action and we even kept a few of our perch and a few pickerel for dinner. Both were INCREDIBLY good eating - although those pickerel were a royal pain in the arse to filet! hahaha! MMMMMMM.......
If anyone ever makes it to New England and is interested in fishing - get in touch with Shawn. He is an excellent guide! The spring, summer and fall are his busiest time with all of the trout, salmon and laker fishing. He also said that they have INCREDIBLE fishing for Smallies in Lake Winnipesaukee - like 50 fish days with a 3lb average - even a topwater bite where two and three fish are crashing on your lure. That sounded so good I may make a trip back this fall to visit him.....I would love a 50 fish day on quality smallies. You can find Shawn at http://www.woodsnwaternh.com/ - I've fished with a lot of guides over the years and he's as good as any of them at delivering an entertaining and educational day of fishing.
Here are a bunch more pics of us fooling around that day.....
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145939_6262439.jpg
I even got a chance to work the auger
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149127_7192321.jpg
Incoming!!!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149132_3415878.jpg
Peace,
Smitty
So, I finally got in touch with a guide who does ice fishing - he works an area that is referred to as the " Lakes Region" of New Hampshire. The most famous lake in this area is called Lake Winnipesaukee - well known for big Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout and land locked Atlantic Salmon. The bite is hit or miss this time of year and I was more interested in catching some new species and trying a new type of fishing so we chose to fish a place called Mirror Lake near a town called Wolfeboro. This turned out to be a great decision as we caught 4 species of fish through the ice - including two species that I'd never caught before....and we caught a TON of fish. We also happened to be the only people on the entire lake - which is something that as a rule, I thoroughly enjoy.
The guide we went with was Shawn Marzerka who owns Woods-n-Water Guide Service. Dude did a great job, put us on fish, worked hard for us and was a very pleasant guy to fish with - which I appreciate in a guide. It's one thing to know what you're doing, but it sure helps when you're also personable and know how to show your customers a good time...and he excelled at everything.
Anyhow - we met up with Shawn at 0800 on Thursday - it was an hour drive from Concord, NH where my sister lives to the fishing area and Shawn assured us that an early start wasn't necessary so we definately enjoyed the chance to sleep in AND enjoy good fishing.
We parked the cars right at the shore - Shawn apparently knows a guy who has a place by the lake, which made life a lot easier. Shawn loaded up his sled with the bait, traps, power auger, tackle, chairs and drinks and off we went.
For those of you that haven't done the ice fishing thing - I know it seems wierd to just walk out onto a lake. I know I was trippin the first time I walked out on the ice - but having done it at South Lake, it was no big deal up there - especially when I heard the ice was a full 2ft thick. The conditions were less than ideal according to Shawn because there was at least a foot of snow on top of the ice, but we didn't mind at all. It actually reminded me of spring at Parchers so I rather enjoyed it.
Shawn got to drilling right away - those power augers are amazing - 2ft of ice was nothing for this thing.
For those that don't know (like me before this trip) the way a lot of folks ice up there is using what are called Tip-Ups or traps. They consist of a spool of braided line with about 6ft of leader. THis is attached to a wood contraptions that spreads accross the hole to keep it from falling in. To that, a flag is bent over and a mechanism near the spool releases the flag when you get bit. Anglers are allowed 6 traps per person in New Hampshire. I think the most we had out at one time was 6 or 7 though because the fishing was just too good...and besides, you do a lot of walking (or running) to and from traps when you get bit so having 12 traps out would have been one hell of a workout! When you get bit, you pick up the trap and basically hand-line the fish in. These fish will run on you so you have to be careful when using your bare hands as your drag - one mistake and the fish breaks you off. We broke off a lot of fish, including a few very heavy fish.
Shawn our guide baiting a tip-up
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149126_6144061.jpg
Lindsey fighting a fish
http://photos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145941_7378936.jpg
Myself fighting a fish
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149131_2713869.jpg
The action started right away - even though the first hole was more or less an exploratory hole to check our depth. Eventually we moved out to a bit deeper water but we caught fish from 6ft all the way out to 12-15ft.
Our first few fish were Pickerel - which are pretty much a smaller Pike. According to Shawn they get to 30 inches in this lake. We didn't get any quite that large but we did get some big ones. I don't know exactly how many we caught over the course of the day but it was a butt load.
Myself with a pickerel - we caught a lot this sized, a lot smaller and I broke off one much bigger before photographing it. Very fun fish - toothy critters too! hahaha!
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145934_4352884.jpg
Linds with a Pickerel
http://photos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145942_7903464.jpg
Shawn with a pickerel Linds caught
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149129_7022236.jpg
After a few Pickerel we started getting into the Yellow Perch, including a few that Shawn referred to as "Jumbo Perch". I'd seen guys on TV catching these things and had always heard how delicious they were - so I was thrilled to get them. These fish aren't tuna - but they're fun to catch anyways.
My first ever yellow perch
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149128_6219595.jpg
Myself with a yellow perch - cool looking fish huh?
http://photos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145937_982492.jpg
Linds with a jumbo perch
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145940_4872656.jpg
Perch closeup
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145943_2516790.jpg
Shawn was hoping we would get into some of the big bass they have in Mirror Lake - including LMB upwards of 7lbs and some chunky smallies as well. Unfortunately we never got into any huge bass, but both Lindsey and I landed LMB in the neighborhood of 2lbs.
http://photos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145936_5175219.jpg
Lil' Sis with a LMB
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145938_8228291.jpg
I also caught a chunky Bluegill - which was a big surprise! It doesn't look very impressive in my massive paws but it was a pretty nice panfish.
http://photos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149130_3044008.jpg
I wanted to experience as much of this ice fishing thing as I could so we also did some vertical jigging with plastic and metal jigs - we ended up with 3 jig fish in about an hour of jigging. Two of the larger Pickerel were taken on the jigs - even with the frigid water, those things are a lot of fun!!!!!
We called it a day about 3pm because my sister had to get back to Concord for class but I could have stayed out there all day. THe weather was perfect - cool, calm and beautiful. We did have some snow flurries on and off in the morning but because there was no wind, it was very pleasant. By the afternoon, it was partly cloudy and about as perfect a day as you can ask for from a winter day in New England.
I can't say enough about how enjoyable a day it was fishing with my little sis. I have yet to find a type of fishing that I don't enjoy and this was no exception. Great memories, a great learning experience, great action and we even kept a few of our perch and a few pickerel for dinner. Both were INCREDIBLY good eating - although those pickerel were a royal pain in the arse to filet! hahaha! MMMMMMM.......
If anyone ever makes it to New England and is interested in fishing - get in touch with Shawn. He is an excellent guide! The spring, summer and fall are his busiest time with all of the trout, salmon and laker fishing. He also said that they have INCREDIBLE fishing for Smallies in Lake Winnipesaukee - like 50 fish days with a 3lb average - even a topwater bite where two and three fish are crashing on your lure. That sounded so good I may make a trip back this fall to visit him.....I would love a 50 fish day on quality smallies. You can find Shawn at http://www.woodsnwaternh.com/ - I've fished with a lot of guides over the years and he's as good as any of them at delivering an entertaining and educational day of fishing.
Here are a bunch more pics of us fooling around that day.....
http://photos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_145939_6262439.jpg
I even got a chance to work the auger
http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149127_7192321.jpg
Incoming!!!
http://photos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v2426/225/9/1583718245/n1583718245_149132_3415878.jpg
Peace,
Smitty