Gone Fishin'

The time for catching trout is heading out.

This coming weekend is the Vermont fish and wildlife's cutoff for the trout-fishing season. So most of the local ice fishermen are getting their ice shanties and tip-up poles ready for the last weekend to catch trout.

Last weekend Zack Lanoue, a Lyndonville resident, woke up bright and early to get on the Ice before 8 a.m. When he gets on the ice the first thing he does is start a fire in his ice shanty. For those of you who don't know what an ice shanty is, it's a shack or homemade shed used to protect you from the cold weather out on the ice. The next thing Lanoue does is use his gas powered auger or drill, to put holes in the ice so he can set up his tip ups. Tip-ups are a type of fishing pole made for ice fishing where you set it up with bait and set it at the depth you want depending on what you want to catch. When the line is pulled a flag goes up so you know what tip-up has a fish biting. Depending on the lake you are usually allowed to set up eight tip-ups. Then you get to play the waiting game sitting around looking for flags on your tip-ups.

For those people that have never been ice fishing, Lanoue has some advice for you.

"For a good day you want to dress in layers, bring some food that you can cook up if you don't catch anything, also I love bringing booze and some friends because it's better to share the experience."

Lanoue who grew up fishing says, "Don't give up if you don't catch anything it's still a lot of fun and better than any day at work."

Since it is the end of the trout season don't be disappointed if you don't catch a big trout just enjoy the fun time with close friends because you can still have a great time without catching anything.