Colchester pond

[Registered Kayak]

Went out to a favorite pike hunting ground. Got out there around 9 and it was one very nice day, even with the wind. utilized my aqua vu and saw 7 pike(under 30"), 2 bullheads around the 14-18" range, and tons of mini perches. Messed up and fumbled a 12" perch back into the hole
Still looking to find that almost 40"er I lost the battle with last year.
Took the family out, saw a couple other families out there too.

[Black Ghost (Ken)]

Thanks for sharing.

I want to get out on the pond next season to throw some flies at those pike.

[digitroll (ron)]

Nice report and there are a few more of those monsters left I am sure.

3 fish weighed in at: 22 / 23 / 24 lbs. documented on certified scales (entered in the Vt Annual Fishing contest) were taken from the pond in the early 80's. Mike Leblanc / Lee Mayo / Tom Perrotte. It was a very well kept secret until a Lawrence Pyne Burlington Free Press article came out years later about the secret giants of the pond. (See below)

My 40" 18 1/4 lb 15" girth Colchester Pond 1982

[Gecha (Gerry)]

These are great fish.
Hey, I know the guy in that picture

[WildFisherWoman]

Whoa Ron!!!!!! Nice!!!!! Thanks for sharing! The article as well....... Is it mounted on your wall? Its a darn shame that Colchester pond gets fished so hard. People keep and keep and keep from there. I bet there's a good one in there still lurking in the depths of the north end though..... Every body of water has that secret beast!

[digitroll (ron)]

Thanks Cheryl. Back in those days nothing was ever less than 10 lbs. or less than 35". We had 4 fish between 15-18 lbs. over a two year span. Not many flags but when we did have one it was "hold on to your hat". The very first flag we had there it bent a #2 long shanked pike hook out straight trying to stop the fish from spooling us. We had no idea of the size of these fish on that first trip.

Some guys that fished the north end mentioned above kept a live cage with a piece of plywood over the hole in the ice hooked with a chain with live smelt they used for there tip-ups they brought in caught elsewhere. They fished almost every day during the winter months and released all there big fish under 20 lbs. Those over 20 lbs taped out to as much as 44" in length.

Yes keeping those giants had a quick downturn on the ponds big pike population and the smaller pike "Hammer Handles" became the norm within 5 years after that photo. The newspaper article was around 1988. And it became a test water by the Vt Fish and Wildlife for 5 years meaning off-limits to fish until 1993. The last 21 years the pond has received some intense pressure with public access.

There are a few left I am sure though as they never get fished out. Those big pike used to feed on the big population of suckers in the pond and I wondered if they ate the baby pike as well. The fish is on the wall (in the Mancave) one of the last fish Mike Renault mounted from Winooski before he went to just mounting game. We always said they came out of Keeler's Bay.

Great memories for my sister and I.

[Black Ghost (Ken)]

Thanks for sharing Ron. It seems that you "old-timers" have some great stories.

[digitroll (ron)]

Very old timer.....54 in 2 weeks. Long time since UVM from that photo. Lots of free time and fun in those days.


I really like the Aqua Vu!!!!! Registered Kayak.

[WildFisherWoman]

That's really interesting Ron! Thanks for the history. Dont you feel old now?

[WildFisherWoman]

Well I guess you posted that as I did!

[Wdrnr]

We used to target the pond back then with some superb fish that we just kept to ourselves. One day that stood out and merits a story..... fishing the north end with my Lab Jetta, we were set up close to shore . One other small group along the ledges. I was checking lines and laid down to look thru a hole in 5 ft of water.. Looked down and saw a monster fish approaching my bait. Immediately sitting up and expecting a strike, I froze, Nuttin happened so I reset, stood up and walked away. Jetta following along noticed fisherman along the ledge approaching. They came over and asked if I knew what was going on in the background.... Nope I didn't,, seemed as I was laying on the ice with my dog close by, A coyote broke out of the woods , probably seeing what it thought a dead deer on the ice decided to join in on the meal. They said it got to within a hundred yards when I sat up. I guess it turned itself inside out trying to get way . Would have been fun to see first hand.The Vt Fand G had a golden opportunity to have a trophy water and missed out.

[digitroll (ron)]

Great story Wldr...

I remember another one when I worked for Dave Brown for Timberline Sports in Essex Jct. shortly after college. Well he would rent canoes and this group came up from Mass. a few times a year during the summer months and would rent canoes and from Dave and stay a week and camp out probably on the far side of the pond out of view. Well one time they opened there trunk to show Dave what they caught when returning the canoes and he saw many / many huge pike stacked up like cord word laying in a 125 quart Igloo cooler. Imagine that photo would have looked like in a text or on social media today.

Back then it was really hard to find a place to park during soft water season and put a canoe in near the bridge. We did it once in high school and the landowner called the cops on us. So we never tried it again on soft water till 5 years later on ice.

Our ice fishing during the good years probably was about 10-15 trips for my sister and I and Dad a few times over 2 winters when the big pike were there the last few years in 1982/83.

[will nolan (swilly)]

great story ron. i love reading about the good ole days.