After some pictures in the below freezing temps, it was obvious that this fish wouldn't be able to survive if we released it. I was sure that we could find it a good home in someone's belly soon enough.
I spent the whole next day trying to entice one of the lake's slow-growing char. Togue in Schoodic can reach 20 pounds or more. With water depths over 200 feet and over 7,000 acres to search, they can be elusive though.
Thankfully night was approach-ing and the burbot bite is far more reliable. In fact it's not much of a stretch to switch over from togue fishing to targeting burbot. I simply dropped my baits to the bottom.
In Maine, ice fishermen can use up to five lines to entice their catch. I situated my five traps (tip-ups to flatlanders) in a 50-yard circle to make them fairly easy to check. The water depth was approximately 35 feet and adjacent to much deeper water.
The regulations when fishing burbot after dark are different than during the day. I simply had to check on the traps at least once every hour. So, to prevent
the fish from stealing all of my line, I wrapped a quick half-hitch knot in the line approximately four feet from my bottom indicator.
Burbot are not known for blis-tering runs. They seem quite content to swim along lazily and
once they find some food, savor it before moving on. In fact, many burbot are caught when picking up traps at the end of the day without ever even tripping the flag.
5:30 PM - After setting my traps I headed back to the comfort of my family's lakeside cabin for some supper. The cabin is a
peaceful place that I don't get to visit nearly enough since making my home in Wisconsin.
After filling my belly with mom's venison pepper steaks I
layered back up and hit the ice.
6:30 PM - In the dark, with only the light of the snowmobile to guide me, I buzzed up to the first trap and the flag was flying proudly.
I hopped off the sled and chipped at the ice to free up the trap. Removing it from the hole I grabbed the line and gave it a quick tug to set the hook. Unfor-tunately I only managed to dislodge the bait and nothing came up through the hole.
Undeterred, I baited the hook again with two juicy, dead minnows, dropped them back to the bottom, and reset the flag. I headed back to the camp to warm up after verifying that the rest of the traps were untouched.
7:30 PM - I headed back out with high hopes of flying flags. Sure enough the trap I had rebaited was again signaling a strike.
I took a little more time with the trap this time. Carefully removing it from the hole and setting it to the side I could see
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Obscure Adventures Magazine
The setting sun is an indication that flying flags will most likely be caused by burbot