If it is January, it is time to start the ice fishing season

By Tom Rideout

Ice fishermen start your augers! There is finally enough ice on local ponds to start fishing. At least that is what the word is up here in the North Country and on many of the lakes and ponds in the Lakes Region. As a matter of fact, some ice fishermen have been fishing for almost two weeks in some locations. But when going out on any body of water, always check the ice to make sure that it is safe.
Early season fishing can be bitterly cold and sometimes makes for unpleasant experiences. It is much better to have a bobhouse or, even better, a portable bobhouse that can be moved from body of water to body of water as fishing varies.
I like to recommend two early places to fish for lake trout up here in the North Country: Big Diamond Pond in Stewartstown and South Pond in Stark. From experience, Big Diamond offers more action but one has to expect to catch quite a lot of fish before catching a keeper.
Brown trout are one of my favorite eating fish, and I recommend fishing Lake Francis in Pittsburg and Christine Lake in Stark. Lake Francis is very handy; just off the boat ramp on Route 3, one can expect to catch decent brown. However, Christine Lake can be one of the coldest places on earth to fish as it sits high atop a mountain and the winds there can be brutal. On Christine Lake, set up in the shallows along the shore as the big browns like to cruise there seeking prey.
Rainbow trout fishing in early season can be frustrating, but two places I find I have enough action to keep me entertained are Third Connecticut Lake in Pittsburg and Martin Meadow in Lancaster. I like Martin Meadow because whenever a flag goes up, it is a mystery what you are catching until you pull it out of the hole.
The smallmouth bass fishing on Umbagog Lake in Errol cannot be beat. It is my most prized fishing destination in both winter and summer.
I fished Head Pond in Berlin last winter, and never in my life have I seen such a population of small pickerel as that body of water holds. Unfortunately, I never saw one over 12 inches, but one can never bring enough bait to fish all day there. Umbagog Lake holds some nice pickerel, as does Moore Dam Reservoir in Littleton.
I am not a pike fisherman, but I am hoping to be invited to fish for some of these big fish by a renown pike fisherman this winter. I have been told that there are some backwaters on the Connecticut River in the Dalton/Lancaster area that are simply fantastic pike fishing. Moore Reservoir is also known for big pike, but I have been told to be careful fishing it because the water levels fluctuate and the number of tree stumps and rocks makes the ice very unpredictable.
Jim Coury at Joe Jones Mountain Outfitters in Bartlett told me that early season trout fishing has taken off fast and furiously in his area. He said that Pea Porridge Pond in Madison has been giving up some excellent early season trout, as has White Pond in Tamworth. I have found Conway Lake, especially the lower lake located in Eaton, to be great pickerel and perch fishing. Every time I have fished there, my legs were tired after the day of chasing flags.
Lee Pilkovsky of Wolfeboro Bay Outfitters makes his living off fishing and hunting, but he is always willing to offer up some of his favorite places to fish. Lee said that early rainbow fishing can be found on Wickwas Lake in Meredith or Lake Wentworth in Wolfeboro. He said he likes to focus on these two bodies of water early in the season and try his luck on other ponds and lakes later on. His early season lakes for lake trout are Ossipee Lake in Ossipee and Winnisquam in Laconia. For those anglers looking for action from warm water species, Lee recommends trying Lake Kanasatka in Moultonborough or Hawkins Pond in Center Harbor for action.
I know many of you have your own favorite spots; that’s fine, because if we all fished the same lake or pond, what fun would that be?
Well now that winter is here, we have more than three months of ice fishing to enjoy. Hope you all have some luck. Perhaps you will share a picture or two with our readers.