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Girl Scouts catch a good time (and a bass too!) at ice fishing event in Mount Vernon
February 18, 2023
Girl Scouts from Troop 2096 caught two fish during their ice fishing adventure at Moose Pond in Mount Vernon this past weekend. Nine girls, including three Daisies, one Brownie, three Juniors, a Cadette, and a Senior layered up and ventured out on the ice to check six items off their Great Outdoor Winter Challenge. Together throughout the day, the girls painted the snow, warmed up with a hot drink, shared a “picnic” with a friend, learned how to dress for winter weather, played a summer game in the snow, and of course…went ice fishing!
“It was a gorgeous morning on the ice! Two of our Daisies had never been ice fishing before, but the rest are either experienced and go often with their families or came with us when did a similar event last year,” said Troop Leader Kirsten Heck.
The day’s success was due large in part to help from several volunteers and leaders like Carol Spaulding, co-leader of the troop, and Kirsten’s husband, a trained ice water rescuer from the Vienna Fire Department. They made sure to check the pond’s ice thickness in advance to ensure a safe day of activities. With 16 inches of solid ice—the girls were good to go.
“The girls arrived early to use the auger and make the holes. Then each one got a chance to bait and set the traps […] the highlight of the day was catching two fish, a pickerel first, and then a largemouth bass. We released both, which our more experienced older girls were aghast at, they’re used to keeping them for dinner!” Said Kirsten.
Thanks to a visit last year from a biologist from the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (IFW), the girls had the opportunity to put their knowledge of bait and humane fishing to the test. After setting up traps, the girls made the most of their time waiting for flags to go up by playing frisbee and collecting sticks along the shoreline to make a winterized version of hopscotch.
Since they worked up quite the appetite with all that fishing, learning, and playing on the ice, the girls set up a picnic complete with a hearty batch of GORP, a Girl Scout classic made with mixed nuts, M&Ms, and dried fruit.
Kirsten says this memorable event would not have been possible without a generous buy in from the community: “All the gear and traps used belong to our co-leaders, and the bait was donated by the Winthrop gentleman that Carol tried to purchase it from. The members of the Vienna Fire Department are consistently supportive of our troop, and we’re grateful they offered their time to help us meet safety requirements. We’re super lucky!”
Check out photos from their ice fishing adventure here.
