WINDSOR — In the days leading up to a January ice fishing derby, its organizers monitored conditions on the 62-acre Lake Runnemede. At 9-inches thick, it was deemed safe for ice fishing.

Hours before the derby’s 8 a.m. start time on a 5-degree morning with a bright sun highlighting the fresh snowfall, Windsor Recreation Director James Aldrich drilled several holes in the middle of the lake with a battery-powered auger.

Over each hole, which were several inches in diameter, Aldrich placed a rectangular frame called a tip-up. It has a spool of line and on one end a small, orange flag on the end of an arm. When a fish bites, the arm tips up, signaling a catch. Others were “jigging,” which is the more traditional way to catch fish using a fishing pole.

From the start of the three-hour derby the fish were biting.

“We are hammering,” Aldrich yelled at one point. “Three bass and two pickerel.”

The event drew about 40 people including several children who, with others, braved the frigid temperatures without complaint.

“I came out for fun,” Paxton Haehnel, 10, of Windsor, said, adding that Aldrich is his basketball coach. “I am a big fisherman.”

The derby was Windsor High School senior Cole Anderson’s idea. He was inspired to hold the event for his senior capstone project in order to get others interested in the sport.

“I’ve been doing it since I was a kid and I absolutely love the sport and want people to enjoy it as well,” Anderson said, as he stood by a table near the banks of Lake Runnemede.

Anderson credited Aldrich and The Coon Club in Windsor for helping organize the project, which he worked on for four months. The nonprofit organization raises money through a variety of fundraisers including raffles and dinners for conservation efforts, as well as to support outdoor activities for youth such as sending kids to conservation camps.

“They are the main reason I am here,” Anderson said about the Coon Club. “They helped with door prizes, food and drinks.”

Ice fishing is growing in popularity in Vermont and New Hampshire with thousands venturing out onto lakes to not only fish but also barbecue.

“For many, it’s not just about the fish,” Vermont Agency of Natural Resources fisheries biologist Shawn Good wrote in a 2022 article titled “Ice Fishing Fundamentals” posted to the agency’s website. He noted that it is often more accessible than open water fishing and does not cost a lot to get started.

“Kids love ice fishing because they can run around and slide on the ice or play in the snow. I’ve seen families with grills, food and hot drinks having a great time. They set their tip ups, build snowmen, play football, and even skate in between bouts of fishing,” Good wrote.

Improvements in clothing to stay warm and popups, portable shanties that are easier to assemble and move around than traditional bob houses, have also helped to increase participation.

During the Windsor derby, Aldrich showed a few youngsters how to bait an ice fishing hook with a live minnow.

Part way through the demonstration, someone shouted. A tip up popped up and everyone raced over to the hole in the ice.

Paxton dropped to his knees, removed his gloves and grabbed the fishing line running into the deep, dark hole of the frozen surface.

“Pull, pull,” Aldrich instructed. “Hand over fist. Now let it go a little. Okay, keep it tight.”

Suddenly out of the small hole, Paxton pulled up a bass and broke into a smile as he held it up.

“That is a big one,” exclaimed Aldrich as he readied his portable scale and clasped it on the mouth of the fish.

“Three pounds, 2 ounces,” Aldrich announced before dropping the fish back into the lake. “We can’t keep bass,” he said. Vermont Fish and Wildlife prohibits bass from being harvested from Lake Runnemede from Dec. 1 to the middle of June.

It didn’t take long for others to pull up a few pickerel from the tip ups that were placed over each hole with a line and bait.

“Just the thrill of it and catching good fish to bring home,” said Maci Burch, 14, of Windsor, when asked what she liked about being on the ice.

Maci was with her parents, Zach and Savanna, and brother Jackson, 13, at the derby.

The Burch family had a popup shanty with a heater inside. Zach said it took about an hour to set everything up.

“This is our first time out this winter,” he said.

Brayden Matteau, 9, of Windsor, said he came out to spend time with his friend, Paxton, and just “have fun.” Early on in the derby, Brayden pulled up a pickerel.

When things quieted down after the flurry of early catches, Aldrich instructed Paxton and Brayden to “scoop” each hole using a flat metal tool, which clears the ice that can form in less than an hour in the cold temperatures.

About midway through the derby, Anderson said he was more than pleased with the interest among the ice fishing community.

“It feels great,” he said. “It was a lot of work to put it together and it has turned out really well. I wasn’t expecting this many people to come out because of the cold and the snowstorm.”

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.