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Cold air and sunny skies: The perfect bait for ice fishermen

Cold air and sunny skies: The perfect bait for ice fishermen
Jim Shaw hauled in his catch from Hatch Pond Saturday.
Photo by Lans Christensen

KENT — A welcome and beautiful Saturday, Feb 6, found several hearty ice fishermen enjoying the fishing, and the day, on Hatch Pond in South Kent.  

Seasoned local ice fisherman Jim Shaw said they had 5 inches of ice. When asked if that was OK, he said with a laugh, “Well, here we are.” 

The unwritten but widely accepted rule is 4 inches or more is needed for safe ice. Hatch Pond was still showing some big expanses of open water; nonetheless these guys were 100% comfortable with their location about 150 yards off the eastern shore and South Kent Road. 

Shaw and two friends (Mike and Eric) had bored several holes, spread out in the area, each with the necessary tip-up in place — this is the device that suspends the line. If there’s a catch, a flag pops up. 

When asked how the fishing was, Shaw said, “Large-mouth [bass], pickerel and perch were all biting.” 

They had a small pool opened and it was very full of fine-looking catch. All of them remarked frequently, “What a beautiful day ! —which they had been enjoying since 5 a.m. 

Right on cue a tip-up flag popped up and Shaw went to haul in the catch. “Bait’s gone … but so’s the fish,” he said cheerfully. 

Just being out on the ice was reward enough for these ice fishermen.

Lans Christensen

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