NH Ice Fishing Derby - Lake Winnipesaukee 2012

It has been a warm winter so the reports say the ice is thin on Lake Winnipesaukee.  We decided to fish the first day of  the derby.



Kevin and I planned to meet Rick and Steve near the same spot we fished last year from Cow Island.  I was up at 4:19AM.  I woke Kevin at 4:45PM.  We loaded up and were off to Dunkin Donuts.  Rick and Steven were stopping for bait on the way up. 

I brought extra socks, gloves, hats, hand and foot warmers, ice cleats, ice picks, etc. in case we got wet.  I also brought a long tow rope from my truck thinking if anyone went through the ice it may be useful.  If you aren't prepared you shouldn't be playing on the ice.  Grill, food, table, food, traps, food, bait, food, chairs, and ... oh yes, food. 

We arrived about 5 minutes before Rick and Steve.  There weren't many ice houses on the lake due to the thin ice.  We had 8 inches of ice in our area but we could see open water in several places.  We did have snow showers throughout the day.

Steven was the grill master and made his heart attack breakfast sandwiches, hot dogs, chili, venison (backstrap), and hamburgers throughout the day.  We never got to the kielbasa or the chicken ...  I often thought someone could get rich with a mobile Dunkin Donuts sled being pulled around the lake by a snowmobile.

We drilled many holes in the ice and set our traps.  Most of the time we had 7 traps (allowed 2 each) set up and used one Jig pole.  We caught quite a few Perch.  At one point Rick thought we may run out of bait so we moved most of our traps to deeper water. 

Fish & Game came around on ATV's counting traps and checking licenses. 



Kevin and I headed out mid afternoon and stopped in Center Harbor.  Looks like they had more like 4 inches of ice.


We also stopped in Meredeth to look at the board. We walked around on the ice also.  Looked to be 2 - 3 inches of ice when we checked. 

At one point we walked by a trap that was 15 feet from open water.  As we walked the ice was bouncing as water was squirting up through the trap hole with each step so we moved carefully to thicker ice away from the open water.  Kevin had the ice picks and I told him if I went in he could slide them to me and I would pull myself out.  I think I will buy a second pair next time.

The board had some nice fish.  A biggest fish on the board at that time was a 12 lb Lake Trout.  The categories were Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout, Yellow Perch, White Perch, Pickerel, Cusk, and Black Crappie.

Because of the thin ice there weren't as many ice shacks out this year.  There were quite a few portable ice shelters.  Some were large and looked pretty slick.  Ice shelters are light, easy to put up, mobile, and probably the way to go.  However, it is nice to see some of the creatively decorated ice houses ...

They said on the evening news that two snowmobiles did go thought the ice on the lake.  Both riders survived.

Search Blog Archive: February 2013, February 2011, January 2010 & February 2009 - for more Winnipesaukee Ice Fishing.