For those hardy enough, temps right for ice fishing

Associated Press

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The cold snap has made ice fishing safe in parts of northern New England, but cold and wind were likely to keep many fishermen indoors a little longer.

"You'll get frostbitten in about 15 minutes right now," Ken Eldridge, manager of Paugus Bay Sporting Goods, said Friday. "But the hardy will go."

Eldridge's store is in Laconia, N.H., where the National Weather said it was 3 degrees with a wind chill of minus 16 Friday afternoon. Wind chills even lower were forecast for parts of northern New England until late Friday night.

"Let's put it this way - I haven't sold much bait today," Eldridge said.

The good news was thicker ice after weeks in which officials had to issue repeated warnings about ice too thin for bobhouses, skating or snowmobiling.

Liza Poinier of New Hampshire's Fish and Game Department said while ice conditions were improving, people still should be cautious. She recommended checking to ensure that ice on lakes is four to six inches thick and solid.

"The ice is getting really good because of this cold snap," she said. "But that said, people need to be responsible for themselves."

The danger passed long ago in far northern towns like West Danville, Vt. There, Hastings Store has been selling perch pulled out of Joe's Pond for nearly a month.

Last weekend, more anglers showed up at Joe's Pond for the start of trout season, said Dana Turner of Point Comfort Bait and Tackle, also in West Danville.

Nearby at Lake Elmore, ice fishermen have been spotted. But no one braved the cold Friday.

The weather has tempered angling on Lake Champlain. Joanne Champagne owns A&B Beverage in Grand Isle, Vt., with her husband. The couple usually sell fish from the lake, but haven't so far this winter.

"We are not even selling any because the fishermen aren't going out," she said.

New Hampshire's ice fishing season began Jan. 1, but the weather was too warm for much action on Lake Winnipesaukee, the state's largest lake. But Paul Harris, who runs Web sites focused on New Hampshire lakes, said Friday that "by this weekend, it should be sufficient." he said.

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