Gabe looking forward to ice fishing season.

Byline: Mary Anne Magiera

COLUMN: Outdoors

In a sweeping stealth move, Mother Nature has built up a fishable ice cover on area ponds and lakes, taking away the uncertainty of previous seasons for those who live to ice fish.

Roland "Gabe" Gaboury isn't quite ready to step out on the slippery stuff just yet, although he has regularly been checking the ice at his favorite spots - Electric Pond in Auburn and Webster Lake.

"I'll wait a little longer; let others take their chances," Gaboury said. Gaboury said he found about 3 inches of ice this week in the coves at Webster Lake, but prefers to fish on thicker ice.

Electric Pond will be his first stop because it freezes earlier than Webster Lake, but the multi-species water body in Webster is Gaboury's favorite. A Webster native who now lives in Brooklyn, Conn., Gaboury pulled a 6.84-pound largemouth bass through a hole in the ice in the lake's south pond last season to claim first place in the annual Brookfields Lions Club Fishing Derby, an event that allows competitors to fish waters of their choice.

His 10-year-old grandson, Ryan Berg of Dudley, fishing with Gaboury, also scored big in the derby. Ryan caught the biggest pout of the day which earned him the children's division trophy and the adult division cash prize. He also caught a 23-inch pickerel weighing in at 1.92 pounds.

"I love derbies; I'm already thinking about this year's events," Gaboury said.

Despite the recent explosion of high-tech equipment for ice fishermen - big screen color fish finders with lake maps, body warmers, and tip-ups that resist wind and keep the hole free of slush, and an array of new lures - Gaboury and most other area ice fishermen rely on knowledge of water bodies gained through experience, tip-ups they've used for decades and the simple shiner for bait.

For example, Gaboury bought a set of custom tilts in 1969 from Roy Bonneau who still makes sought after ice fishing equipment.

"They don't fail. They are the original ones I purchased; I've changed the line once, and I've used them everywhere I fish - Lake Champlain in Vermont, remote lakes on the Canadian border, and in this area," Gaboury said.

Meanwhile, Bernie Lempicki of Leicester has already ventured out onto some of the smaller area ponds with his custom tip-ups that date back to the 1970s.

Lempicki feels no gadget can really supplant experience when it comes to picking the best spots to fish.

"Over time you just get to know that certain areas produce good fish," Lempicki said.

Consistently placing at the top of derby leader boards, Lempicki pays close attention to the weather to determine the best times to fish.

"It has to do with the barometer," Lempicki said. "It is 10 times more important to ice fishing to pay attention to weather and it has little to do with comfort."

For Bob Rooks and others who are classified by friends as those "who live to ice fish," the hard water pastime is really more than just finding and catching fish, it is a prime time event.

"It is the camaraderie of your partner; you work together. It's not your tip-ups or his tip-ups, there are 10 you share," Rooks said. "Each brings something the other doesn't have - my partner has a nice auger, I have a big box on a toboggan."

Once you get out on the ice, Rooks continued, "There's this great anticipation, waiting for the flag to go up. Then, a surge of adrenalin when the flag pops, followed by absolute mayhem as you rush to the tip-up."

One partner is ready to grab the line, while the other carries the bait bucket in case the fish is lost. Once at the hole, both fishermen focus on what is happening with the reel.

"That tells you what kind of fish is messing with your bait," Rooks said. "If it's screaming and you are on a trout-salmon pond, you get ready for a long fight."

Rooks and his partner are partial to fishing for trout and salmon, favoring such places as Comet Pond in Hubbardston and Lake Mattawa in Orange. Rooks recalled a broodstock salmon that required nearly 25 minutes to land.

The Northboro resident and instructor for the state's Angler Education Program advised, "You have to let them run; you can loose too many by being too anxious to bring them to the hole."

It is the partner's job to keep the hole clear of ice and, most importantly, to grab the fish and maneuver it through the hole, according to Rooks.

Then comes the celebration.

"We have some wonderful hot meals on the ice; we bring venison, bear, whatever we have and barbecue it. It ends up being a whole day of activity that is very satisfying," Rooks said.

At 37, Todd Matera represents the new generation of ice fishermen, those targeted by marketers of 21st century gear. However, the state's 2005 Angler of the Year favors gear passed down from his grandfather and father.

"I'm very old school. I have about 100 old pine-hemlock tip-ups with brass spools - the ones that were made in Worcester and Westfield," the Palmer resident said. Matera scours yard sales and flea markets to supplement the cache he inherited. He rigs up different sets of tip-ups for each species he pursues.

"I've painted some of them black; they absorb the heat from the sun and it helps to keep the line clear of ice," Matera offered.

Matera planned to fish Hatfield Pond, an impoundment of the Connecticut River on Wednesday in search of trophy perch and calico bass. The Western Mass. spot has about 5 inches of ice, according to Matera who expected to use shiners that he had gathered for the outing.

Matera caught eight trophy fish of different species to capture the angler of the year title, an annual award that recognizes angling diversity. He is currently in contention to receive at least two gold pins for trophy catches in this year's statewide Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program.

Although Matera shuns most high tech equipment, he suggested that novice ice fishermen invest in the best ice auger they can afford and the warmest possible clothes to wear on the ice.

"A two dollar depth sounder is all you need to find bottom," Matera said. "It's important to find the bottom and put your bait above the weeds - at least two, three feet above the bottom."