Machias is known for being central to the surrounding lakes and rivers, and when the ice freezes, the ice fishing season begins. Many students head to these icy waters every year, and this year, we’re bringing the information to you. On the weekend of Feb. 16, 2024, two ice fishing groups went to the lakes. Matthew Kelly, the vice president of the University of Maine Machias’ Outing Club, took a ragtag group of students to Bog Lake and taught them the ropes of ice fishing. Many of these students have never been ice fishing, while others just want to hone their skills.
“Some people have a lot of nerves. They’ve never been on ice before,” said Matt, a senior and Outdoor Recreation major at UMM who has been ice fishing since he was 12. Thats my whole goal, is to get people out there, give them an opportunity because fishing is also really expensive. [The] biggest thing about this event is gear and a permit to other people [who came out] with no equipment can fish and learn too. People learned not only how to set things up, but about ice safety, which is very important. The need is low for events like this and more for us to show people what we have for the gear they can use, as well as the knowledge we can give them. But the event gives us an opportunity to bring people out and show them firsthand how to do it all. It’s good to have people here and show them that the ice is safe in places, but just to teach them ice safety and things, to still be careful.”
Many students learned to ice fish over the weekend. With a focus on finding brook trout, smallmouth bass, and even pickerel, there are plenty of lake fish to choose from. Students like Resident Assistant Grace Pine and Marine Biology student Ben Kuzenka tagged along, helping teach others how to ice fish.
“[It’s] more about the company than the actual fishing,” said Kuzenka, who gets out on the ice most weekends.
One of the newcomers, Samantha Hall, a first-year marine biology student, enjoyed the information and was eager to share it. “[I] I had a good feeling about the ice fishing on offer, and I enjoyed learning. It’s very informative, with details about what you can catch, what each trap is, and how to set them up. I learned to set up traps and Matt showed me how to use the sonar, which showed you if there were fish under the ice. I loved those parts,” Hall said.
Ice fishing is more than just fun for students who go out. The ones in the classroom are also funny. Many marine biology majors collect ice and return samples for longtime marine biology teacher Dr. Gale Kraus. The marine biology program is known for its hands-on learning style, and when students bring in fish, Kraus uses that for many of his classes, such as invertebrate zoology and ichthyology. This weekend, Kraus challenged students to bring Pickerel; here’s his take on why:
“How brave is the chain pickerel!!!! That is, very unique organs, compared to that trout [were] simultaneously frozen and thawed [which] there are very delicate organs that fall out. That’s why pickerel is so good for dissection. Students are allowed to donate some of their catch, but we get most of our freshwater fish from MIF&W. When they do gill netting, they bring us some fish that died in the gill net.”
Our other ice fishing group consisted of outdoor recreation students Dom Piccuito and Matthew Marshall and marine biology student Ben Kuzenka. The three are together almost every weekend and they have a lot to say.
“For chasing out and catching fish,” said Kuzenka, who saw a great correlation between ice fishing and his classes. “[I get a] hands-on skill to identify the fish without an ID manual by my side.”
As Kraus pushes her students to identify marine life without a manual, Kuzenka puts this challenge to her passion for success in and out of the classroom.
Marshall said, “[As a Outdoor Recreation major] it helps hone special skills that I can apply to my major, and ice fishing patience can also be related to the class.” As a prospective game warden or marine patrol, you can find Matt on the ice and -talks with other marine biology majors about the information he’s learning in the classroom and out on the ice.
Piccuito tells us a different story. “I’m going to find solitude that you can’t get while in class,” Piccuito explained. As a perspective game warden, Piccuito spends most of his time with animals and people and chose this time to hone his skills. As he is fond of fishing, you can see him at dawn trying to catch all kinds of fish.
Ice fishing is a huge passion for students and brings this Machias community together. With the melting of the ice, we will see fewer students on the ice, but this does not stop them from finding new ways to fish and bring this information to the community.
