Still plenty of ice fishing in the north country

Two weeks ago, I reported that snow skiing up north in New Hampshire was still great and it still is.I was at Sunapee last Sunday and the conditions were excellent. Don’t be misled when you look out your window at bare ground.Well, the same holds true if you are an ice fisherman.Just because many of our local lakes and ponds are starting to show open water, there are still many Maine and New Hampshire waters with enough ice to support fishing, according to the Kittery report.The ice on Moosehead Lake is still decent, with temperatures below 20 degrees the past several nights.Greg Cutting on the big lake at Jordan’s Store in East Sebago reports that right in front of his store he’d probably not want to get on the ice but the shore ice down towards the Lower Bay is much better.”There’s still plenty of ice out in the main ice pack and the togue are hitting pretty well. At Long Lake in the Sebago Region, Dave Garcia at Naples Bait and Tackle says there’s still plenty of ice around his locale; the problem is getting on the ice by “walking the plank”. If you do decide to go, remember, safety must be your main concern!uBay State anglers who have cabin fever can look forward to over 529,800 feisty brook, brown, rainbow and tiger trout being stocked this spring. These are sizeable fish; 71percent of the fish average 12 inches or longer.”We have some high quality fish this spring,” observes Chief Fish Culturist Dr. Ken Simmons.”We had to deal with severe drought conditions last summer and early fall resulting in reduced water flows for two hatcheries. The prolonged, severe snow and ice conditions from this winter were also a challenge at all our harcheries, but the hatchery crews did an excellent job with the fish.”Stocking will begin sometime near the end of March (Southeast, Northeast and Central Districts start the week of March 21) when water chemistry is optimal and the ice, snow and mud conditions allow the 2-ton tank trucks access to the waterways.Anglers are advised to contact the District office for updates on when stocking will begin in their area.”We’ll be putting out 217,000 rainbow trout that will average 14 inches or longer, and 86,000 more rainbows will range from 9-13 inches,” observes Chief Fish Culturist Dr. Ken Simmons. “They’ll be distributed statewide throughout the stocking season by our five regional Wildlife District offices.”More than 51,400 brown trout in the 12-inch category will be stocked along with another 92,000 browns in the 6 – 12 inch range.The larger bodies of water will receive the larger fish and the smaller brooks and streams will receive the majority of the smaller-sized fish. Brook trout will be stocked in a similar fashion with approximately 51,000 fish measuring 9-12 inches, and more than 26,400 at a foot or more. Simmons noted that this year’s crop of 2-year old brook trout production years in recent memory. Anglers can also anticipate trying to tame some of the 6,000 tiger trout to be released, all topping the 14-inch mark.These handsome fish, a cross between a female brown trout and a male brook trout, have become popular with folks lucky enough to hook and land one.uNew Hampshire is well known among avid anglers for the large landlocked salmon in the state’s big lakes.Learn more about this famous fishery and what you can do to help protect this valuable resource by coming to a free talk Friday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m., at the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 11 Hazen Drive, Concord, N.H.The evening features Inland Fisheries Division Chief Steve Perry and Large Lakes Fisheries Biologists Don Miller and John Viar, who will talk about the landlocked salmon fishery and introduce the Landlocked Salmon Anglers’ Pledge – a cooperative, volunteer effort to help sustain quality landlocked salmon fisheries in New Hampshire’s large lakes, such as Lake Winnipesaukee. Pledge brochures as well as promotional decals will be available free of charge. Why take the Pledge?Over the past six years, fisheri