The state’s annual ice fishing festival is supposed to be held on Lake Bomoseen, in Rutland County. That was until a few weeks ago, when the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department decided to change the location to an area with more reliable ice — to Lake Elmore, a smaller lake, further north.
“Fortunately, we have really good ice conditions out there,” said Corey Hart, who works in education with Vermont Fish and Wildlife. “The last time we checked, we had about 12 inches of consistent ice in front of the state park.”
It has been an unusual season for ice fishing and sports like pond hockey, following last winter’s poor ice conditions.
“Most years right now, many bodies of water will have a foot or more of ice. And that’s not the case this year,” Hart said. “Some have – some have a lot,” he added.
Joshua Morse
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Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department
Lakes with adequate ice cover are mostly in parts of the Northeast Kingdom and the Green Mountains, according to Hart. He said the biggest factors that determine ice cover in each area are temperature, elevation, currents and wind — a more sheltered body of water freezes more easily than an exposed area.
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If they can find a safe place to go, anglers anywhere in the state will be able to fish without a license this Saturday. And for those new to the sport, Hart recommends stopping by the festival, which begins at 11 a.m. Jan. 27 at the state park just outside Morrisville.
“They’ll learn all about how to use a spud bar, how to check ice conditions, different levels of thickness, things like that,” he said.
At the end, you can borrow a rod and try to catch a fish — maybe a yellow perch. And you can even eat your catch.
“We also have fried fish in there,” Hart said. “If somebody catches a fish big enough to fry, they can definitely take it to the fryer, and we’ll fry it for them.”
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