Holiday Season

Another Christmas come and gone and 2010 fast approaching.   The lakes are freezing over and the ice fisherman are heading out.  As usual the Wardens Service is asking people to use common sense and check the ice before going out.  "Choose small bodies of water when first venturing out on the ice. Rivers and lakes are prone to wind and wave action, which can break ice up quickly. Avoid areas with currents, around bridges and pressure ridges. Remember: "Thick and blue, tried and true. Thin and crispy, way too risky."" (These ice safety tips courtesy of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife). 
   I heard on the radio this morning that they are publishing a site, http://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing/newsletter/bangor.htm#icefishing , that has a listing of lakes and ponds with 10-14 inch fall stocked brook trout, put in with the ice fisherman in mind.  The article also suggests some tricks to make your ice fishing for brookies more productive.  If you are a fan of brook trout and want to hit the ice you should definitely be checking these lakes and ponds. 
   I woke up this morning to my 5 year old daughter Laura yelling back up the stairs "We got alot of snow last night!!"  I jumped out of bed and looked out the window,  I had watched the end of the Bears and Vikings game and looked out my front door at close to midnight and it hadn't started doing anything yet so I foolishly thought that we might not get the snow.  So it was a quick get ready to go this morning so I could get in here and plow before everyone else showed up for work.  Weather is definitely a fickle thing, I talked to someone in Portland at 5:00 and he said it had been snowing hard there for awhile, one of my crew from Otis said they were plowing there at 7:00 or 8:00 last night. Well, off to plow some more.