Boxing Day Fishing

Post-Christmas, I ran down to Connecticut to spend some time on Candlewood with Mark. Mark constantly tempts me with the great winter fishing there and it's been on my list for quite some time. Regardless, it'd be on my list even if it wasn't loaded with smallmouth as I'll take about any fishing to avoid sitting on the ice.

We spent two days bumping around the lake to different pieces of rock or stumps in deep water (25-35 foot). Much of it was a lot like ice fishing and probably would have worked well with a two foot long rod. I spent a lot of time craning my neck between my rod-tip a few feet off the transom and the Humminbird on the console while watching for the telltale “fish” line to rise up for my jig. We also threw a hair jig at some shallower cover (15-25 foot). It isn't something I've ever done but it seemed to work pretty well. To the tune of a giant largemouth and several nice smallmouth.

Through it all, Mark and I battled some semi-extreme winter weather. The first day, we dealt primarily with frozen guides while we were on the water. Driving home over surprisingly snow covered Connecticut roads was the hard part. Day two was a challenge on the water. Sleet, rain, snow, and high wind kept us cold and the fish stubborn all day. To top it off, my drive home to Vermont was through 8 inches of fresh snow.

I'll be back for sure.