Ice Fishing Afternoon - Report and Pictures

A Historic Day for the Needham Sportsman's Club: Our First Ice Fishing Event!

February 8, 2025 – The Needham Sportsman's Club made history on Saturday with its first-ever ice fishing event! It was a resounding success with more than 20 club members and their families braving the cold for an afternoon of fun, food, fishing, and fellowship. Thankfully the trout played along with approx 30 healthy rainbow trout being caught and safely returned.

With the ice thickness ranging from 8"-12" across the pond, the set-up team drilled and flagged twelve holes for participants to rotate through and test their winter angling prowess. The fire-pit was set up on the shore for participants to get the feeling back in their hands and feet, and we thank Jeff B, Eric R. and Dennis M. for donating firewood to the club. Johnny S provided coffee and donuts in the clubhouse then a feast of burgers, sausage, hot dogs, wings and hotdogs was enjoyed prior to the fishing bell. Paul D. manned the grill with tongs that were a little too short, but we reassured him that finger-hair does grow back. Dennis P smoked the chicken wings and provided the home-made pork sausage.

Ice fishing rigs were provided to members who did not have their own equipment and live shiners were supplied as the bait. Thanks should be given to the club's Board of Directors who voted to temporarily waive the rule that prohibits fishing with live bait on the pond.

It only took Cathy M a few minutes to pull the first trout of the afternoon through the ice and from then on the catch rate was steady. Many of the members contributed to a winner-take-all pot for the biggest fish of the day, which was won by long-time member Rollie J. with his 17.5-inch catch. Our youngest fisher-person was 4-year-old Annie O., who reeled in a beautiful 16-inch rainbow trout and proclaimed she wanted to catch another one.

As is typical with any fishing sport, some anglers ended the day without even a bite, while others pulled in as many as three fish. Despite having caught no trout, Jack W. did claim to have had some success fishing for shiners out of the bait bucket.

A big thank you to Phil B. and Tony O. for their exploratory work in the lead up to this event. Also, thank you to everyone who donated their time and equipment to help make the afternoon such a memorable day. We look forward to many more successful ice fishing events in the future!

More pictures of the Ice Fishing Event can be found on the Gallery Page of the club website.

Jeff B.VP, Needham Sportsman’s Club