Anglers will find several access points on the lake. Parking is available at a large boat-launching ramp off Reservoir Avenue at the north end of the lake. Another access point is near the dam on Reservoir Avenue in the lake's northeast corner.

Route 140 cuts off two small ponds from the main lake with shoreline access along Route 140. Take Exit 11 off I-495 west of Taunton onto Route 140. Travel south on Route 140 for about two miles. Reservoir Avenue will be the first left.

Snipatuit Pond
Snipatuit Pond is a 710-acre lake that tends to freeze early in the season. This pond is relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 6 feet and an average depth of 5 feet. Ice-anglers should jig with glowing lures or add bright-colored beads to their tip-up rigs because the pond's water is tannin stained from surrounding swampy wetlands and cranberry bogs.

Ice-anglers will find chain pickerel, largemouth bass, yellow perch, sunfish, crappies and northern pike. Pickerel and yellow perch will likely dominate the day's catch.

Fishing the pond is not difficult. Start on the points or at the mouths of coves on the eastern side of the lake.

The lake has a modest parking area near the boat-launching ramp. To get to the ramp, take Exit 3 off I-495 east of Middleborough. Travel east on Route 28 to South Middleborough. Turn right on Spruce Street to Bisbee Corners. Then turn left on Neck Road. After passing over the causeway, the ramp will be on the right. Some limited parking can also be found along Neck Road.

For fishing and licensing information, call the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife at (617) 626-1591.

For tourist information, call 1-800- 227-MASS (1-800-277-6227).

VERMONT
Currier & Ives probably visited Vermont when painting their winter ice-fishing scenes. Not much has changed in the Green Mountain State since -- the scenery is still beautiful, and the ice still gets thick enough to run a team of horses on it.

In some parts of the state, the ice-fishing season lasts as long as the open-water season!

Connecticut River Setbacks
Between Springfield and Bellows Falls, ice-anglers will find several large setback coves off the Connecticut River. (Setbacks are formed by the widening of incoming tributary deltas.) These coves are relatively shallow, but they attract some of the largest yellow perch in all of New England. Additionally, ice-anglers here will catch northern pike, largemouth bass and walleyes.

When fishing these setbacks, don't be afraid to set up close to shore. The old creek channels often run deepest along the bank, leaving the center of the coves shallow and weedy.

The best setback is Whites Cove in Springfield. Take Exit 7 off I-91 onto Route 11. Travel east on Route 11 to the access point at the Connecticut River bridge. Another very good setback is in Rockingham off Exit 6 from I-91. Follow Route 5 north from the highway exit to the access area.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife encourages winter angling by managing specific waters for ice-anglers, and even sponsors a license-free ice-fishing weekend in February.

Lake Dunmore
Ice-anglers looking for that Currier & Ives view can visit Lake Dunmore in Salisbury and Leicester. This 985- acre lake has a maximum depth of 105 feet, plenty deep enough to support some big coldwater species, including lake trout.

The northern and southern ends of the lake are shallow, running about 5 feet on average, to attract yellow perch and largemouth bass.

Anglers have two main access points. On the eastern side of the lake, anglers may walk through Branbury State Park off Route 53. On the west side of the lake, the state maintains a boat-launching ramp on West Shore Road off Route 7 in Salisbury.

For fishing and licensing information, call the Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department at (802) 241-3700.