WINDSOR — On a brisk Saturday morning, a few dozen bundled children competed to pull the largest fish from the ice on Lake Runnemede.
Eli Flood, an 8-year-old from Claremont, said his favorite part of the Saturday’s free kids ice fishing derby in Windsor was “that you can catch a lot of fish.”
But for Eli’s father, Ron, the event had more to do with the human participants: “It’s good to see everybody out there,” he said.
Eli was among 37 15-and-under anglers in the event, which was hosted by the Windsor Coon Hunters Association, the Windsor Recreation Department and Tillman’s Bait Shop in Ascutney.
The new winter event, like the association’s annual spring fishing event held at its own pond on Hunt Hill Road, is aimed at getting children outside, away from video games and other indoor pastimes, said Chris Gould, one of the event’s organizers and secretary of the Coon Hunters Association. The club also sponsors area kids’ attendance at summer conservation camps, said Gould, a third-generation member.
The event seemed to be serving the club’s mission. There were no video games in sight. Gould’s son, Ben, popped out of one of the dozen or so heated ice shanties set up on the lake and said he had to catch “one more” fish to hit 10.
The event marked a return to a youthful pastime for Chris Blanchard, of Springfield, Vt., who attended the event with the Floods and his son 7-year-old, Michael Blanchard. By about 10:30 a.m., Eli and Michael had already pulled up a few fish apiece.
“I grew up doing it,” Chris Blanchard said of ice fishing. “I just got back into it with these guys.”
When a flag went up on a tip-up poking up from one of the many holes scattered across the ice, a group of kids ran across the lake to see what was on the line. A raised flag indicates when a fish has taken the bait down below.
“That’s the beauty of ice fishing,” Windsor resident Ernest Fortin said as the kids ran away. “Everybody’s like, ‘Whose is it?’ ”
A bald eagle stationed on a nearby tree branch seemed to be of the opinion that the day’s catches belonged to it. The bird munched on several fish after derby officials weighed and measured them. Other catches went back into the lake.
Fortin’s 9-year-old daughter, Lucey, was ice fishing for the first time Saturday. She stood holding a fishing pole with her bare hands, periodically switching the pole from hand to hand to keeping one warm in the bib of her snow pants at all times. She had a mackerel attached to her hook dangling into the icy cold water but had yet to catch a fish, though she had tried a few different methods and types of bait.
“I just wanted to try it,” she said of ice fishing.
Fortin, who does not ice fish, seemed game to support his daughter’s interest, even though he found it surprising.
“I was actually shocked that she wanted to try it,” he said.
Different groups seemed to have different approaches to the derby. The Fortins arrived at 8 a.m., when the derby was slated to start, while the Floods and Blanchards said they arrived at 6:30 a.m. to drill holes in the ice, attach minnows to their lines and set the traps.
“It’s definitely a sport you want to be prepared for,” Chris Blanchard said.
Necessities for a day on the ice, in addition to a shanty and fishing supplies, include chairs, heaters, food and a grill, he said. Despite the single-digit temperatures outdoors, Blanchard said it was about 70 degrees inside their shanty, which from the outside looked like a square tent.
Across the ice, in a corner of the lake shielded from the wind by trees, the event organizers offered up hot dogs, a wild-game chili made with moose and venison, and hot chocolate. Groups of participants periodically made the trek for the treats.
The derby offered trophies for the largest pickerel, bass, pike and perch, but all 37 participants under age 15 were able to go home with prizes, according to Gould.
By the end of the event at noontime, the young competitors had caught 58 fish, he said.
Windsor resident Ben Morse caught the day’s biggest fish, a pickerel that was 20 inches long and weighed 1 pound, 14 ounces. Ryan Hunt, of Lebanon, caught the largest bass, which came in at 15.5 inches and 1 pound, 7 ounces. Eli Flood caught the largest perch, which came in at 11 inches and 8 ounces.
One fish remained elusive. Gould said the participants found “no pike at all.”
Nora Doyle-Burr can be reached at ndoyleburr@vnews.com or 603-727-3213.
