These cold January days have not deterred me from enjoying Maine’s outdoors. Those of us who love to fish in Maine can’t stay idle waiting for spring to wet our fly lines. Instead, we bundle up and explore Maine’s lakes and rivers—through the ice.
Last weekend, I finally got a chance to get out on the ice with my dad and some friends. Out on Cobbossee, we drilled our holes and baited our traps and hunkered down on the ice to enjoy the crisp, clear morning. With little action, we decided to fire up the grill for some lunch (the flags are sure to fly up once the grill is on). Sure enough, FLAG!! Eagerly, I looked up to see whose trap was the lucky one, and it was mine. Racing out to the trap, with my gang in tow, I got to the hole and saw the reel spinning fast. Fish on! Anxiously, I pulled the trap out of the water and set the hook. Hand over hand, I pulled in my fish. As its head filled the hole, I saw it was a pike. My disappointment that it wasn’t a trout was muted by the fact that it was my first fish of the year. Although the rest of the day was slow, being out on the ice with good company, and the excitement of the first catch of the year, tickled my fishing itch, which I hadn’t felt since I put away my fly rod in the fall. I just had to get out for more.
The following Friday night, with NRCM co-workers Steve Tatko and Nick Bennett, I made my way down to the Kennebec for some smelting. Feeling confident, I brought along some cornmeal and a frying pan to enjoy our catch for dinner on the frozen river. And I wasn’t disappointed. We barely had all our lines baited and we were catching smelts! As you may know, smelt fishing is a very social affair—and not just because you are in a six by eight foot shack with four other people for six hours. It is also an opportunity to listen to the chatter coming from your neighboring shacks. We had a great time (and the smelts were delicious!).
The following morning, I drove over to Livermore for more action. Once again, I happily settled in for a day of ice fishing with friends. Just as we were sitting down for some brunch on the ice (including the freshly caught smelts from the night before), I had a flag. Racing out to my trap, I was eager to meet my fish. As I set the hook, I had no idea that I would soon be pulling out a beautiful 20” brown trout!! Although I usually stick with catch and release, this was a fish worth keeping. While I enjoyed it for supper on Sunday with my parents, I couldn’t help but worry about the mercury content in the fish, which was being passed on to me. It is a shame that Maine sportsmen need to think twice about eating the fish coming from our own waters. It made me appreciate all the work NRCM has done to reduce air pollution and it made me eager to get back to work on Monday morning cleaning up Maine’s energy mix.
—Emmie Theberge
Wow, Em! Those are awesome pics! So glad to know you’re ice fishing again. Good going!
-Memere & Pepere
Nice to know you guys (and gals) can be wonks yet sportsmen (women). Nice fish, Ms. Theberge!
Awesome Emmie! My two and half year old son just had his first ice-fishing experience and loved it, such a great tradition. Thanks for sharing. Jane
Em – Some of Maine’s most outstanding sportsmen were organizers of NRCM and its good to see we’ve still got some folks there who like to fish. Congrats on the nice brown trout. Sportsmen could really use the help of NRCM on fisheries issues – for example, DIF&W’s hatcheries have a serious problem with the genetics of the brown trout they are growing and stocking. Check out my two outdoor news blogs once in a while at Downeast.com and http://www.georgesmithmaine.com. – George Smith
Nice post Emmie. I am so happy you are sharing those moments with us on facebook. Especially the good times with your Dad. He sure does love ice fishing too, just like Grampie did. I used to love to smelt but only went smelting when it was legal to catch them with your hands. Sure some good eating. The smelt looks delicious, my mouth is watering. Would love to have a mess.. Too bad I’m so far away but I’ll take being here over all that snow.
Luv you! Big hugs to you all! Aunt Millie
Thanks, George, for the comment. It was nice to hear from you. There are a number of us at NRCM who are sportsmen, plus another who is an avid birder. Both folks here at NRCM and sportsmen across the state understand the importance of a healthy environment. I think we will be most successful when we all work together to protect Maine’s natural resources and quality of life, which includes a strong sportsmen heritage. We here at NRCM try to stay up on your blog. I hope we can stay in touch.
As many of us have known along, environmental protection and being a sportsman (or woman) can and should go together. Thanx for the post Emmy
It gets really cold in Maine in the winter. Usually no colder than 15 below zero for a couple weeks in February. With the wind chill, though it can reach close to 30 below zero. We usually also get a few feet of snow. This is my first year raising chickens in my backyard and I just want to be sure they’re well cared for.
Smelts, that’s one thing I miss about Maine plus all of the other great seafood too.
Read more about Rainbow Smelt here on NRCM’s Creature Feature: https://www.nrcm.org/creature_feature.asp