Richard Farmer of Winslow was kicking himself Saturday.
Had he not missed the deadline for purchasing tickets for the Belgrade Lakes Chain ice fishing derby, he would have placed second with the only fish he caught all day — a 40-inch, 27.34-pound pike.
“I learned a lesson,” Farmer said. “Buy the ticket the day before the derby.”
Farmer was fishing with two cousins, one of whom had never ice-fished before, Michael King of Oakland and Kevin Miller of Waterville. It was a first-time experience for King.
The men were a little late getting to derby headquarters, so they just missed being able to buy tickets. Then Farmer’s ice auger bit broke and a friend brought them a chainsaw to cut their holes through almost two feet of ice on one of the several bodies of water eligible for the derby.
They only had big bait — gold fin shiners about 7 inches long — because the local shops were nearly out of bait and they had to take what was there. There were several derbies Saturday that pretty much cleaned out local bait supplies.
It was a jovial atmosphere on the lake, he said. Groups of fishermen were interacting with each other, whether they were friends, family or complete strangers. People had portable huts, including Farmer’s group, where they could get warm. Some were cooking food. Farmer often brings a cast iron grill with him for that purpose, he said.
It was about 3:30 p.m. and there were only a few fishermen left on the ice. Farmer and his cousins were talking among them, when he happened to look up and see a flag on one of his Polar tipups.
The Polar type of trap has a visible knob at the top that spins when the fish is taking line out. Farmer said it was spinning fast. He pulled gently on the line and the fish on the other end pulled back.
Farmer didn’t want to let go but he also didn’t want the line to get tangled up on the trap. He asked King to grab the trap, but the inexperienced fisherman misunderstood the instructions and went to get the skimmer.
Meanwhile, Farmer fought the fish. He knew then that it was big.
When King returned, he and Miller were there when Farmer started to bring the fish up through the hole. All three men dove to the ground to grab the fish and pull it out the rest of the way. Farmer was afraid they might lose it because he only had 6-pound test line and no steel leader.
They were fishing in a shallow area near shore where they did not expect to encounter pike. The line was only about 2 feet below the bottom of the ice. Farmer said it’s 6 feet deep there in the summer. Usually he finds pike in at least 10 feet of water, he said.
Farmer, an avid fisherman, tries to participate in as many of the local derbies he can, he said. His father and uncles instilled a love of fishing in him when he was a young child, he said.
It was King’s first time eating fresh water fish too, so Farmer sent the pike home with him.
“It was a good experience for everyone and a successful day of fishing,” Farmer said.
