New Hampshire Winter Recreation

Ice fishing derbies are a winter institution in parts of the Northeast, bringing well-bundled anglers out to drill holes through the ice of frozen lakes and wait for perch, pickerel, pike, bass, trout, or tiger muskie to strike. As winters have warmed over the past century, the duration of ice cover on the region's lakes had decreased. On Lake Winnipesaukee in the White Mountains, the average ice-out date now occurs eight days earlier than a century ago. Global warming is expected to further thin lake ice cover and shorten its duration. These changes affect not only ice fishing, but also skating, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, dogsled racing, and other ice activities that have long been part of the Northeast's way of life—and a source of winter income for many small towns.