Fishing America
STATE #48 - VERMONT
FEBRUARY 2019 - LAKE BOMOSEEN, ROACH POND
SPECIES CAUGHT - Northern Pike, Yellow Perch, Large Mouth Bass
While still on the road coming in from New Hampshire, the owners of the Brookside Estate, Tench and his wife Olga called checking on me. Their bed and breakfast home located south of Orwell is where I would stay the following two nights.
When I told them what I had caught in NH and ME they quickly offered to include some of it for dinner that evening that they were preparing for me. I told them to set the table for all 3 of us when they told me I was the only guest for the two nights I reserved there.
Me being the only guest was because my reservations were between hunting seasons, hunters being one of the popular type guests they have in the winter. As in most cases as such, being the only guest meant all lodge service was for only me.
After stopping in Rutland and buying an assortment of candy and goods made from VT maple syrup for some sweet toothed friends at home, I arrived just before dark. After being welcomed by my new friends, Olga started dinner that included pan frying some of the white perch I had caught that morning in NH.
The perch were delicious as were Olga’s homemade side dishes and dessert. My fishing guide Fred Scott joined us after dinner. While discussing our ice fishing plans, Tench also shared some history of the old lodge and estate property that included the raising and exporting of Spanish Merino Sheep at one time.
Being the only guest at Brookside and having the entire second floor to myself, I was surprised to find somebody else in my room when I walked in. This long sleek looking snow white character was on the floor right beside my bag showing interest in it. After scaring my roommate into hiding, I went to bed with
After scaring my roommate into hiding, I went to bed with a howling winter wind blowing outside. Fred picked me up after breakfast the next morning and while headed to our fishing spot I described the critter to him as a long white stretch version of a rat.
He laughed and said, “That little animal is not a rat, it is called an ermine, it actually hunts and eats rats and mice.” I said, “That makes me feel better to know I have a friend upstairs that will keep the mice and rats away, or eat them.” My roommate needed a name so I named him Herman.
Fred drove us on to the ice covered Roach Pond where we unloaded fishing gear including the small fold up shelter and sledded it all out on the ice. The wind had calmed from the night before but was still blowing a little.
Using it and also fishing with a few tip-ups scattered around, the fish started biting a little. A largemouth bass or spotted bass is not new to me because they seem to be in every water hole in Texas, but it is so strange and so cool to see one coming up from under the ice.
It was cool in more ways than one for this VT stop that I didn’t specify a particular target fish, something I almost always do. A mixed bag of weather started with the wind blowing the cold morning in, followed by bright sunshine while catching a mixed bag of fish.
A mild afternoon blizzard brought a flurry in on us but we stayed with it occasionally sharing the bench seat in the small fold up shelter. The wind blew it off us once, so we wedged some things against the bottom flaps and frame of it including each of us using a foot on one side somewhat shielded from the wind that was unpredictable in direction and speed.
The variety of fish included several northern pike and yellow perch that were all keepers, and many largemouth bass that were catch and release only. It was a fun experience on the ice complete with the home prepared lunch Olga sent with me.
Twenty degrees with a strong wind is cold for this Texan, but the occasional breaks from the wind made it tolerable. A good steady bite from the fish takes many things off my mind including brutal cold. It was as though I didn’t realize it was that cold until we finished and headed back to the Brookside.
After another home cooked dinner that once again featured my white perch from Lake Winnipesaukee in NH and also an appetizer made out of my lake trout from Maine, and enjoying more history from my inn keepers, I turned in again and then awoke to a beautiful day. I didn’t see Herman again, so I guess he checked out.
Day two of the third consecutive New England state on this trip reminded me once again why I like more than one day to fish at a location. A dead day on Lake Bomoseen left me with being content with the law of averages for the two days combined. Tench had informed me over supper the night before that
Tench had informed me over supper the night before that the white perch was among the best fish he ever ate describing them as divine, so I left him some of them before heading out to Saratoga Springs, New York. They were indeed awesome as were the yellow perch that I fried soon after getting home.
Fred lives in nearby Benson and also guides for deer and moose. Another of his specialties is rabbit hunting in the snow that requires short notice timing to more variables than just snow. I told him I would like to hunt those rabbits with him. I hunted them when I was a kid but not in the snow.
I spoke with Tench and Olga this morning and they were doing good. I thanked them again for taking such good care of me while there. The Brookside Estate is on Facebook, and online at www.brooksideestate.com
Fred is an all around great guy and ice fishing guide and I had fun with him while Fishing America. I spoke with him this morning about rabbit hunting. He is on Facebook in his name and at Whitetail Strategies, and online at www.whitetailstrategies.com