Snow, rain and unseasonably warm temperatures have combined to create unpredictable ice conditions on lakes and ponds across the state this month.
That’s why the Maine Warden Service issued a warning Tuesday. The first day to take salmon and trout through the ice is Thursday on most lakes.
While an early freeze skimmed over lakes and ponds in much of the state, the Warden Service recommends that people check the thickness of any ice before going onto it.
In southern Maine, the fishing forecast is “excellent,” but not so for ice, says fisheries biologist Frances Brautigam at the Gray office.
“Although the ice set up relatively early on many southern Maine ponds, extended periods of warm, wet weather have created a wide range of ice conditions,” Brautigam said Tuesday.
Some lakes and ponds in southern Oxford County had 10 to 12 inches of ice, while others like Thompson, Kezar and Sebago lakes had yet to ice up. Ice conditions on water bodies further south were very uncertain.
“Anglers should exercise great caution when heading out on the ice early in the season,” he added.
Fisheries biologist Forrest Bonney in Strong said conditions were favorable for opening day of ice fishing in western Maine.
“We’ve had alternating snowstorms, rainstorms, and cold weather, resulting in up to a foot of solid snow-ice on most lakes,” he said Tuesday.
But, due to high flows from rains, anglers should use caution near inlets where ice may be thin, he added.
Anglers have been advised to stay away from Downeast water bodies because most lakes are wide open. Ice has formed on a handful of small ponds, but fisheries biologist Ron Brokaw in Jonesboro said it is not safe.
tkarkos@sunjournal.com
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