Fishing Regulation Changes Effective January 1

WATERBURY , Vt -- The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department reminds anglers about fishing regulation changes effective January 1, 2011.  

Several ponds are added to the list of small trout ponds that are off-limits to ice fishing.  The ponds added to the list are Adams Reservoir, Woodford; Big Mud Pond, Mt. Tabor; Dufresne Pond, Manchester; Griffith Lake, Mt. Tabor; Hapgood Pond, Peru; North Pond, Chittenden; Red Mill Pond, Woodford; Stannard Pond, Stannard; Sterling Pond, Cambridge; and Vernon Hatchery Pond, Vernon.  Brook trout are the only game fish in these ponds.  While it has been illegal to harvest trout from these ponds in the winter, the closure of these ponds to ice fishing further protects brook trout, which can be especially vulnerable to ice fishing in small ponds.

Also starting January 1, Newark Pond in Newark will be open to ice fishing for the first time in decades.  “The yellow perch population in this pond is abundant, and the average size is larger than most ponds in the area,” said Jud Kratzer , Vermont Fish and Wildlife Fisheries Biologist.  “Opening this pond to ice fishing provides local anglers with a great opportunity to harvest some nice-sized perch.”

Another group of regulation changes effective January 1 concerns the use of fish as bait on ponds.  The Vermont Fish and Wildlife Board maintains a list of ponds where the use of fish as bait is prohibited in order to protect brook trout ponds from the introduction of new fish species that could compete with brook trout for food or eat juvenile brook trout. 

New additions to the list of ponds where the use of fish as bait is prohibited include Adams Reservoir, Woodford; Beaver Pond, Holland; Beebe Pond, Sunderland; Big Mud Pond, Mt. Tabor; Blake Pond, Sutton; Bourn Pond, Sunderland; Branch Pond, Sunderland; Cow Mountain Pond, Granby; Griffith Lake, Mt. Tabor; Little Rock Pond, Wallingford; North Pond, Chittenden; Notch Pond, Ferdinand; South America Pond, Ferdinand; Stratton Pond, Stratton; Unknown Pond, Avery’s Gore; and Unknown Pond, Ferdinand.

Several ponds will be removed from the list in order to allow anglers to use fish as bait to target the warmwater fish species that have become established.  Ponds where the use of fish as bait will now be permitted include Colby Pond, Plymouth; Ewell Pond, Peacham; the Knapp Brook Ponds, Cavendish and Reading; Levi Pond, Groton; and Newark Pond, Newark.