Usually the ice is gone, but not this year!

The only thing I like about winter is ice fishing. A few weekends ago I drilled through about 18 inches of ice to be able to drop lines in the water. Even this week Sebago Lake is coated in 12 inches of hard ice! Pretty incredible considering yesterday was the start of open water fishing!

April 1st marks the time in which it's legal to fish from shore or by boat. Historically it has been illegal to ice fish after the start of open water fishing. However, back in 2010 the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife changed laws making it legal to fish in open water or on ice at any time, when conditions allowed.

This law change is ONLY for the 12 southern Maine counties. The reasoning behind excluding northern Maine from this change is in the interest of protecting natural fisherys. Southern Maine waters are stocked with hatchery fish like trout and salmon, while northern Maine has wild trout and salmon fisheries.

It's important to note that laws on fishing in open water or on ice this Sprinter differ from lake to lake. Always check local regulations before dropping lines.

This is the first season in which conditions for fishing in open water or on ice has occurred since the law change.

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