But First, Test Your Fish Sense:

Ice Claws are used to A) pull yourself to safety, B) to grip into ice C) both

Monday was so nice it's hard to even think about ice fishing. Trust me....its coming! But do it yourself ice claws can save your life and can be made with items around the home.

I made my homemade ice claws without leaving the house. I started with an old broom handle and two sixteen penny nails.

I then cut two pieces out of the broom handle to fit my hand and drilled 3/8” holes in them. This hole is big enough to fit the head of a sixteen penny nail.

Some people bang the nails in and grind the heads off, that is fine also, but I don’t own a bench grinder. So, I used a hot glue gun to hold the nails in the handles of my home made ice claws, tied a string on and wrapped them with duct tape for comfort. The tape also helped hold the string in the proper orientation. Remember to make the string long enough to hold each claw with out stretched arms while running behind your neck. This way you can store them under you coat like a pair of mittens.

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I like to wear the string around the back of my neck while sticking the claws in my pockets. Other people run the string through the sleaves and wear them like childrens mittins. Just be sure they are easily accessible. You don’t need to be fighting with accessibility while under water.

Test Your Fish Sense:

Ice claws are used to help pull yourself to safety and grab on to ice while doing so.

I ran into Ed Nadeau and Tim Sample at the Rt. 35 Bridge of the Presumpscot River.

Ed was getting ready to fish a nymph in the waters above the bridge where the fishing is traditionally better. I asked him about the tape-on strike indicators he was using to fish the Presumpscot River and he explained he likes to use two. This way he's assured the indicators will stay above water.

For those of you unfamiliar with the technique, let me expound on it. Ed was fly fishing with a floating line on the Presumpscot River. This means that when he cast it out upon the water, it will float. At the end of the floating line is attached a piece of monofilament line. This is called the leader.

You attach the leader to the floating line by use of a nail knot. The leader-monofilament line will sink; the strike indicators used above the nymph will not. It acts like a tiny little bobber. You are also setting the depth of the nymph with the position of the strike indicator.

Ed says he will usually pick up a few Browns when he fishes the Presumpscot River but had his doubts about today due to the high fall water level. The department of inland fisheries stocks it fairly heavily. target=”new”>2004 stocking report

View north of Rt. 35 bridge on Presumpscot River

Tim Sample was checking out the Presumpscot River for a fishing tradition his family has on Thanksgiving. They all come down to the river to dip a few rods and spread a little cheer. Sounds like my kind of family!

View south of Rt.35 bridge on Presumpscot River

Today was a beautiful day! And after getting a few chores done, I just couldn't keep myself from hooking the boat up to the truck. After checking the regs, I headed up to Sabatus Pond, just outside of Lewiston, for a little Bass / Pike fishing. It's only an hour from my home and it always affords itself to some sort of fishing action.

When I arrived, I noticed a family walking towards the ramp taking in a little sun. I asked them if they had brought thier float rig and they looked at me a little puzzled. {Maybe they should subscribe to this blog.}

After giving them a chance to walk down to the dock, I brought my boat up to the landing in preperation to launch. I do a "walk around" to check the boat and ramp before launching. The sun was bright and I was chipper as I walked down to the dock.

As I approched the dock, I noticed the water had been lowered in the pond for fall clean up. This is a normal practice for some ponds. The water level is lowered several feet to allow property owners to take in docks and do what ever needs to be done.

To my surprize, this was not good for me. The ramp was apparently damaged by ice the previous year and was not passable at this water level. A 2 foot by 8 long piece of concrete layed right in the middle of one side of the ramp. On the other side was a large pot hole. I hadn't noticed this when the water was several feet higher.

It was around 2:00 PM when I noticed this and thought it too late to try another location. Disappointed, I headed back home in seach of my float rig.

----What is it used for? The answer is A. A float rig is used to fish live bait.----

I decided to start the process of putting my boat away when I got home and going through my gear. It's a good time of year to get your gear in order.

If I could only find that float rig!

Sometimes good fishing is closer than you think! A good body of water in Southern Maine that has an abundance of Brook and Rainbow Trout is Kennebunk Pond in Lyman, Maine. Kennebunk Pond, Maine, is stocked heavily, but Kennebunk Pond is also fished heavily. To get there travel north on route 111 out of Biddeford for about four miles. Look for the Kennebunk Pond Road which is on the right when traveling west. The public beach is on the left around a mile down the road, if headed in from Rt. 111. They allow parking on the side of the road; but as things in Southern Maine become more congested, this could change.

Kennbunk Pond is a heavily fished during all fishing seasons. Make sure to show up early if you’re looking for a special spot. Kennebunk Pond has medium to high pressure in the summer time; you will need a small boat to launch. The launch is basically the beach and is very shallow for a ways out.

Be safe and have fun fishing!