Winter in the 1950’s: Ice-fishing and pulp wood hauling
Dennis Smith shares stories of life in winter in the 1950s, in the village of Otter Creek, Maine
Tag Archives: ice-fishing
Can’t get a fish from a hole in the road
The ice has come, the ice has gone, the ice is here again. It will be here for six more weeks if we can trust that Ground Hog. I am skeptical of any creature also known as a whistlepig, though, and for whom the leading topics in an internet search include 1.) How to repel, […]
What is ice fishing really about? At Great Pond, it is not just the fish
400 plus souls gather in a field of ice. Three boys toss a ball for their dogs. A silver-blue Miata cruises with its top down. Fires dot the expanse, and a small group huddles around each one, warming hands and roasting hot dogs. It is the annual Great Pond Fishing Derby. Fish are the reason […]
Through the looking glass: inside a fish shack
The tiny houses dotted along a frozen surface are irresistible to any one with a camera in hand. Their simple shapes in the middle of a field of ice, surrounded by forest and mountain, have inspired coffee table books and appeared on the covers of magazines. They represent a culture, a world, and, for those […]
Yellow or white, this is the time for perch.
You can catch perch in the warm seasons, but it is now, when they have been living in icy water, that they are at their peak. The flesh is firm, and very mild. It is a beginner’s fish. If you are new to ice fishing, it will probably be one of your first catches. Pickerel […]
Camp weekend: Ruled by fish
The faux fur raccoon hat had a tail with stripes, and the young boy wearing it assured me it was fox, real fox, that had been dyed to look like raccoon. And fake raccoon at that. I looked at it closely, and agreed with him. It is March, and a winter weekend at camp. […]
Wait, don’t throw out the babies! Or, sautéed fish roe is mighty fine
The ice is still safe–it was twenty-two inches at Long Pond yesterday–but I hear a suspicious dripping sound coming from the trees behind the house. This time of change is when many fish are laden with eggs, or roe. Yellow perch roe sacs can be up to five inches in length, their smaller cousins, white […]
Wheels on ice: Ice roads get us from A to B, with all due respect and a bit of fun
Cars go through the ice every year, and every year I pray that ours is not one of them. When we hear about those cars we shake our heads, as any fool could see the ice was thin. But the owners of those cars must have been confident and absolutely sure it was safe. […]
