Date: Fri 15-Jan-1999

Publication: Bee

Author: STEVEB

Quick Words:

ice-fishing-Taunton-Lake

Full Text:

Friends Of The Freeze

(with photos)

BY STEVE BIGHAM

Stan Siecienski of the Newtown Fish & Game Club stood near his fishing line on

the ice of Taunton Lake Monday afternoon. Suddenly, a loud roar echoed across

the lake as the ice started to rumble and crack between his legs.

Not to worry. Thanks to more than a week's worth of frigid weather, the ice is

plenty thick. The noise and the frightening cracks are created as the ice

expands and pushes against the shore.

While most people either head south or stay inside by the fireplace, ice

fishermen revel in this arctic weather. For them, the cold air couldn't have

come soon enough. Armed with coffee and hot chocolate, bait and tackle, and

ice drills, these hearty souls have been converging on Taunton Lake this past

week. The Fish & Game Club is expected to stock the lake with more than 1,000

brook trout this week.

A year ago at this time, temperatures soared into the low 60s, leaving area

lakes ice-free. Local fishermen, if they were lucky, were able to get on the

ice five or six times at the most.

Currently, area ice measures between 4-7 inches and thickness, plenty thick

enough for ice fishing.

"Two inches of black ice will hold a man," noted Charles Reichardt of Castle

Hill Road, a longtime resident and fishing enthusiast.

Mr Reichardt warned those who venture out onto the ice to be aware of the

different shades of ice. Snow ice, as he calls it, can be deceiving.

So what makes ice fishing so appealing to these sportsmen?

"When you're ice fishing there's a lot of camaraderie," Mr Reichardt

explained. "It's a grueling sport. Hunting season is over, so you can either

sit around the house and work for the old lady or you can get out there on the

ice."

The sport of ice fishing involves fishing through a hole in the ice, requiring

no more than a baited hand line, but fishermen usually set up a number of

tip-ups or flags in several holes. Minnows are usually used for bait.

"You need the little fish to catch the big fish," noted one ice fisherman.

Area anglers may want to get in as much fishing as possible over the next

couple of days, as a warming trend is set to hit the area by the end of this

weekend. According to Gary Lessor of the Western Connecticut State University

weather center, temperatures will rise into the 40s and low 50s for the next

couple of weeks.