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Ice Fishing at Patten Pond

February 6, 2012   Maine Outdoors

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Steve and I went ice fishing yesterday. He fished. It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to go, and I didn’t want to waste time getting a license.

Load the truck.

A pack basket with ice fishing tip-ups.

Find a snow-covered dirt road.

The road to Patten Pond

A JetSled carries the auger, tip-ups and bait used for ice fishing.

Steve has an auger to drill holes through the 14" ice.

After drilling the hole, push the snow and ice chips away from the hole. Scoop out the ice.

The auger drills a 10" hole.

Drill a deep enough hole to hold the auger upright.

Live bait is kept alive in a bucket. They're small fish from our pond.

I couldn’t get a shot of the bait fish being placed on a hook. Steve’s hands are big and the fish and hook are small. When they aren’t being used they’re kept in a cooler in the basement. A bubbler used in aquariums is used to keep the water oxygenated.

Ice fishing tip-up

Thermal ice fishing tip-up.

I didn’t get a picture of the best tip-ups we use. They’re Heritage, made in Eddington, Maine. Ours are bright orange with black flags. They’re tall and easy to see on the ice. For us, this isn’t only about buying local, it’s about what we like best. I bought them at Dick’s Sporting Goods at Christmas but I’ll order them directly from the maker next time. I’d rather keep my money in a small community than a corporate office. End of “buy local” commercial. Back to fishing.

When all the tip-ups are set, you wait for a flag.

When a fish takes the bait it pulls the fishing line from the spool and releases the flag.

Nothing! It got the bait fish and got away.

The end of a great afternoon of ice fishing on Patten Pond.
A successful day of ice fishing doesn’t always include catching fish. Being outdoors in the Maine woods is enough. Sure, it would have been nice to catch a few fish but we spent time together, had fun, got out in the fresh air and got the tip-ups wet. It was a good afternoon.

Looking out at the scenery from the top of Democrat Ridge

 

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