VT Fishing Guide Tips For Ice Fishing This Winter

By now most of the lakes and pond have frozen over with a nice thick layer of ice. This is prime time for ice fishing season. Let look at the tradition of ice fishing for a moment as a VT Fishing Guide. 

Most fishermen over the years wait for the ice to get thick enough and then drive their shanty out on the ice and setup shop. Some of these shanties remind me of the movie Grumpy Old Men where it feels like home. It’s got a small stove, lounge chair, fridge, etc.  There is really nothing wrong with this! Really, some people just want to get out of the house and relax and enjoy the great outdoors. 

VT Fishing Guide

The goal is to unwind, relax and maybe catch a fish or two. Okay, that’s great. What if you have a different goal? The goal of catching a bunch of fish and some pretty big ones at that? Then this may not be you! You really don’t need a super fancy shack or even one at all! By the way, I love this movie! 

 

Fish The Deep

The many unexplored frontiers in most ponds, lakes and rivers are the areas that are loaded with weeds, sticks, fallen trees, etc. These areas are often out of reach but are highly productive during the open water seasons. In the winter though fish tend to be more active in the deeper waters and not the shallows. Drill your hole and probe the bottom to see if you are in the weeds. Then move to deeper water. 

VT Fishing Guide

Most of the time I fish in the open and find a nice deep spot in the lake to drill my hole. Here’s a beauty!

 

Fish the Depressions

What is a depression? Most depth finders will point out where the depressions are at the bottom of the lake. These are spots in the bottom that dip down and provide a small spot for the fish to hide. A depression is also where the depth suddenly drop by 1 foot or more. You can also see where lake depressions are from mapping software solutions like lakemap.com or navionics.com. These allow you to drill your hole exactly over the depression and catch more fish. 

VT Fishing Guide Tips For Ice Fishing This Winter 1

 

General Ice Fishing Tips

Fish are just like people. Yes, they rely on their senses to relate to things around them. Fish can hear, see and smell everything in their environment around them. Here are some things to think about when fishing. 

  1. Fish have color vision. They can also see for a good distance as long as the water is not to murky. 
  2. Fish can see above them as well. In the summer, you can easily spook a fish with big movements and loud noises. Winter gives you the ice as an advantage. 
  3. Fish can sense movement. They use their senses to detect movement to find food. That is why jigging is one of the best ways to attract fish! 
  4. Fish have a sense of touch. Yes, their lateral line which is their way of touch. This allows them to detect movement in the water. They use it to sense danger, find food and swim in schools. 

stay bent fishing tours vermont

Back to fishing! Remember if you don’t catch fish, I don’t get paid! 

Thanks, 

Keith

C K
C K
February 22, 2022.
We had an excellent time with Keith for Ice fishing! Caught a Northern Pike on a jigging rod of all things! Keith was always professional, friendly, and very instructive. Highly recommend!
Erin Courcey
Erin Courcey
January 24, 2022.
Keith really runs a terrific private ice fishing excursion!! From the start, Keith was extremely responsive, organized and full of knowledge and excitement over our family’s desire to try ice fishing for the first time. Keith was thorough in his planning with us so that we were prepared and comfortable with our plans. The day was amazing—-Keith is an expert fisherman, and he so was patient with all of us non fishermen/women. We learned so much and really had the time of our lives with Keith! We will definitely do another excursion with Keith soon, and highly recommend him!
David Malfetano
David Malfetano
January 17, 2022.
Keith is a fantastic guide and was very helpful to our inexperienced crew. Would certainly book this tour again!
Jon Boudreau
Jon Boudreau
January 17, 2022.
Keith and his dad run a great service and provided us with an excellent time on the lake. He knows what he’s doing and takes his time to teach the tour group. Absolutely would book again.
Luke C
Luke C
January 17, 2022.
One of the best fishing experiences I’ve had. Everything was organized, well run, and an absolute blast. Hard to find a better charter!
Kristin Bitter
Kristin Bitter
October 10, 2021.
My family and I had an awesome time out on Lake Morey this weekend with Keith!! He had a great boat, a bunch of different tackle, and put us onto some really nice fish.
Sean Bitter
Sean Bitter
October 10, 2021.
Great fishing! Lots of big fish! Keith is the best
Mike Seaton
Mike Seaton
September 2, 2021.
We went out with stay bent recently and had a great experience! We caught many fish and the guide was very knowledgeable
Christopher Augello
Christopher Augello
August 31, 2021.
Awesome day on the lake. Keith was awesome , great teaching my kids how to fish and me . Caught a bunch of fish too.
Chris Ritter
Chris Ritter
August 30, 2021.
We had a blast fishing with Keith last week. He put us on nonstop action on a hot day, which is not easy. The lake was beautiful and fun to jump in as well. My nine-year-old daughter does not have a ton of fishing experience, but he was able to get her working the retrieves perfectly, and she ended up out fishing me by a long shot! We got largemouth, smallmouth, rock bass, Pickerel, Perch, and sunfish. Keith is great with kids, and a lot of fun to hang out with for grown-ups. His boat and equipment are top notch as well. I would recommend this guy to anyone, And we are looking forward to our next trip which might be some ice fishing.

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