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Ice Fishing in Port Henry is a Fifty-year Old Tradition by Casey Ryan Vock At the crack of dawn on February 12, the carbon monoxide from snowmobiles, four-wheelers, and pickup trucks permeated the frigid air in the streets of Port Henry. Fishermen, fisher-women, and even fisher-kids, donned in Carhart pants and jackets, tukes, and waterproof boots and gloves, hurry into convenience stores grabbing coffee, beer, snacks, and any other last minute items they may have forgot. The coarse, endless blare of ice augers cutting through the eighteen inches of ice covering Lake Champlain certainly woke all aquatic life, and perhaps some of the villagers who were not going to be participating in the 3rd annual New York State Ice Fishing Tournament.
Before most people were out of their pajamas that morning, about one hundred and fifty hand-crafted fishing shanties, holding anywhere from one to twelve individuals – allowing just as many to fish through trap doors in the floor - form small, separate communities on the frozen support of the lake. A new highway forms between land and the villages from the first round of traffic setting up for the day. Standing on the banks, looking out over the lake, the multiple colors of the wooden structures, randomly distributed in four general patches, seemed to be an unintentional work of art. More than 250 people scurried around setting tip-ups above the waters where “Champy,” the famous sea creature, made a name for himself. The tournament, sponsored by the Moriah Chamber of Commerce, Icefishingtour.com, and Norm’s Bait Supply, would eventually award over $8,000 in prizes. Prizes or not, many of these people would have been out there regardless. This is what they do to pass the time- fish. James Guyette, Jr., a 41-year-old originally from Ticonderoga, explained: “To the south, towards the Crown Point bridge, is known as ‘The Hole.’ Just North from the boat launch is the ‘Sow Hole,’ and more northeast toward the center of the lake is the ‘West Channel.’ And just straight out from the launch is the ‘East Channel.’” These groups have formed for many years in this same fashion.
That’s why James Guyette Sr., from Moriah, would have been out there fishing no matter what. Out in the East Channel, he sits in a twelve-man shanty – the name on the outside says Rory – with four little square windows, propane heater blasting, dragging in smelt like they are going out of style. He’s coaching people through their snags and tangles and pulling in two fish at a time himself. “I’ve done this since I was two,” said Guyette Sr., who is now 66 years old. In his big hands he holds two handmade jigging poles. “I made my first set of poles when I was in high school, but I had to make another set my senior year because I lost one down a hole.” He held up the set he was using. “That was in 1955. That’s how long I have been using these poles.” Suddenly, his hands fling into furious, oblong crocheting motion, like he’s either weaving some enormous quilt or composing some underwater symphony. He managed to bring up a fish by intertwining the string of one pole around both poles. He was making something very difficult look very easy. Whatever it looks like, he caught more fish than anyone had a chance to count. The tournament has a category for the following species: northern pike, perch, lake trout, salmon, and smelt. Smelt are the only one of these, however, that can supply bait and a catch at the same time.
Guyette Sr. watched his son’s maneuvers carefully and still moved his hands as if at the helm of an orchestra. He said, “This is just something I’ve done my whole life. We started doing it when we were young, and then everyone else seemed to get into it.” People can place a shanty out on Port Henry as long as they have their name and phone number posted on it. “This shanty belongs to an old buddy of mine,” explains Guyette Sr. The fishing television series “Lunkerville” recently ran a special on Port Henry in which Guyette Sr. was called “The Lord of the Lake” – a name he has received from friends over the years. Across from “The Lord of the Lake,” his friend and longtime fishing buddy Bill Mitchell sat across from him, wearing glasses, drinking a soda. “Boy, I hope I catch a laker,” he explained, referring to the coveted lake trout of Lake Champlain. “I saw a few of them the other day when we were out here, just swim right under us.” He adjusted his line so as to raise the bait closer to the surface. And after about ten seconds, he burst into excitement. “Here the smelt are already!” he yelled. Before long, everyone in the shanty except Guyette Sr. – because he did not need to – was fishing just a few feet below the ice. The smelt could be seen biting. Occasionally, one would be caught without even penetrating the hook – they would just bite and hold right onto the bait. These fishermen seemed not to care too much about the tournament going on, although Guyette Sr. noted that he made everyone buy a ticket for the thirty-dollar cost to support the tournament. Most of the day was spent celebrating the sheer excitement of catching buckets full of fish – which would most definitely go on someone’s dinner table.
Guyette Sr. ended up catching the lake trout his friend Mitchell was
after; Mitchell had already left, however, after dropping one of his jig poles
in the water.
Strangely enough, no flags from tip-ups snapped up for the men who sat
inside the shanty on that day. But, that is hardly a factor. With enough smelt
to feed an army, and having laughed enough for a month, the men called it a
day around three o’clock, the designated time the tournament should end.
“Might as well go in and see if we should bother weighing anything in,”
Guyette Sr. said smiling. “Picked a great day to come, that’s for sure.”
At the weigh-in for the tournament, kids wrapped in winter gear ran
up to the judges station, mucous running down their noses, freaked-out
looking perch in their palms, while men and women socialized and told
of the big fish they caught. Then they made it bigger; and then bigger
yet.
As the awards were given out, many of the lucky ones chosen were from out
of state. Locals cracked jokes, but seemed to really only care to see how big
the winning catches were. As the anticipation grew and faded out with
elongation of the whole process, someone could be heard yelling near the back
of the parking lot, “Look! There’s the biggest catch of the day.” A tow truck
was pulling a van that had just been exhumed from the lake after the driver
had gone through the ice with it the week prior.
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www.icefishingtour.com www.angelfire.com/home/lake/fishing/lake.html
Definitions: Tip-ups: wooden or plastc structure that sits over a hole in the ice with a spool of line and hook attached Auger: either motorized or cranked by hand, a large spiralled blade for cutting through the ice Shanty: shelter structure with wooden skies on the bottom meant to be placed on the forzen ice for people to fish from Jigging: a technique used to attract fish to bait by creating a natural motion Laker: a Lake Trout Smelt: small, abundant school fish |
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