Free ice fishing day is Jan. 28

Any angler may ice fish on any water body open to ice fishing statewide without a fishing license on Free Ice Fishing Day.

With the start of the new year, many Vermonters are preparing for one of the state’s most popular winter pastimes: ice fishing. 

Even before stepping out onto the ice of Bryant Pond 30 minutes before dawn on New Year’s Day, I could tell it was going to be an unusual opening to Maine’s ice fishing season. 

Residents and nonresident anglers may ice fish on any Vermont waterbody that is open to ice fishing without a fishing license on that day.

The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department has scheduled a series of free ice fishing clinics for anyone who would like to learn about the latest proven ice fishing techniques

I don’t remember the exact year when I first drilled holes in the ice and set up tip-ups, beginning a longstanding tradition of ice fishing in Maine the first few days of every new year.

VERMONT — With the 2021 winter ice fishing season firmly underway, and Free Fishing Day coming up this Saturday, Jan. 30, the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (VTFW) has created an online Virtual Ice Fishing Festival to help new anglers learn about ic … (read more)

VERMONT — As winter sets in, many Vermonters are preparing for one of the most popular cold weather pastimes in the state: Ice fishing. Anglers spend more than 400,000 days each winter ice fishing in Vermont, and the state’s Fish and Wildlife Department i … (read more)

MONTPELIER — Vermont state law requires that ice fishing shanties be removed from the ice before the ice weakens, according the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. The shanty must be removed before the ice becomes unsafe or loses its ability to support … (read more)

The first fish caught me by surprise. It was a landlocked salmon, and a fairly large one by the standards of that small Maine lake: about 18 inches long, with a visible kype identifying it as a male. Perhaps a frustrated male that hadn’t been able to spaw … (read more)

RUTLAND — As winter sets in, many Vermonters are preparing for one of the most popular cold weather pastimes in the state — ice fishing. Anglers spend over 400,000 days each winter ice fishing in Vermont, and the state’s Fish & Wildlife Department is enco … (read more)