For six weeks, ice anglers at Moosehead Lake have set up their shacks and spent plenty of time dredging Maine’s largest lake in search of togue.

Beginning today, their focus may well change: Salmon fishing becomes legal, and many people will begin to set their lines a bit shallower … and hope that a waving flag signals the arrival of a hefty landlocked salmon instead of a bottom-dwelling lake trout.

Paul Johnson, the Department of Inland Fisheries’ regional biologist in Greenville, said anglers have appeared eager to get started.

In his written weekly fishing report compiled for the DIF&W, Johnson points out that though keeping a salmon has been illegal thus far this season, there’s really no law against catching that species … and some anglers have seemingly ignored the department’s pleas.

“In the interest of minimizing the handling of salmon before it has been legal to take one … we recommended that anglers not target salmon, instead targeting the very abundant lake trout population,” Johnson wrote.

“Apparently, anglers at the southern end of the lake have heeded this request,” he wrote. “Up until now, the salmon catch south of Rockwood has been minimal.”

Unfortunately, that trend wasn’t lakewide.

“At the northern end, however, much more of the ice fishing effort must have been directed at catching salmon, even though it has not been legal to keep one or even remove one from the water,” Johnson wrote. “So far this season, 95 percent of all salmon reported caught have been from the northern end of the lake, with 75 percent of the total catch in the Rockwood area alone.”

Beginning this morning, anglers can keep one salmon per day, with a minimum length limit of 18 inches.

Johnson realizes that the shortened ice fishing season and 18-inch minimum do not sit well with some fishermen and women. But he said there simply aren’t enough salmon in Moosehead to “support two seasons of fishing that would produce the catch rates and fish sizes Moosehead anglers tell us they expect.”

“If the lake were open to salmon fishing all winter, even with a 16-inch length limit, the winter harvest plus mortalities associated with handling salmon would not leave enough salmon to support five months of open water fishing,” Johnson wrote.

Johnson said some of the anglers who account for 10,000 days of fishing in the winter wouldn’t mind that. However, those who account for more than 20,000 angler days during the summer might not agree.

Adding to the dilemma is the fact that the East Outlet, as well as the Moose and Roach rivers, rely significantly on Moosehead’s salmon, and they support more than 10,000 days of fishing each summer, collectively.

There you have it. You’re welcome to keep a salmon on Moosehead beginning today. If you choose not to … or to target togue all season long, that’s OK, too.

Free Fishing this weekend

Each year, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife schedules one weekend – always the Saturday and Sunday preceding Presidents Day – as a time when anglers can head to their local lake and fish without a license.

In case you haven’t checked a calendar lately, that weekend is now.

So, if you’ve got some ice fishing gear and you just never got around to purchasing a license this year, today’s your lucky day. Get out there. Enjoy a day on a frozen pond.

And take a child or two with you. They’ll have a great time.

In that vein, if you’re interested in providing the children in your life a memorable fishing experience, you might want to take them up to Pickerel Pond for the Hooked on Fishing, Not on Drugs, on Sunday.

The program starts at 9 a.m., and hot chocolate and hot dogs will be served. All bait and equipment will be provided.

Signs from Route 2 out of Old Town and Milford will direct parents to the Stud Mill Road and the Maine Youth Fish and Game Association’s new clubhouse.

Derby time upon us

In order to take advantage of the aforementioned Free Fishing Weekend, many civic groups schedule their annual ice fishing derbies for this weekend.

Among those you might want to check out are these three: One in Hancock County sponsored by the MDI Rod and Gun Club (on Sunday), another on Schoodic Lake (Saturday and Sunday), and a third on Silver Lake in Bucksport, sponsored by the Bucks Mills Rod & Gun Club (Sunday only).

At the MDI Rod and Gun Club’s derby, the grand prize is $1,000 cash, and all you have to do is register a fish to be eligible. The drawing will be held at the Ellsworth Elks Club.

One important note: If you’re interested in participating in the Hancock County derby, tickets won’t be available on Sunday.

The Schoodic Lake derby boasts a total prize pool of more than $12,000 in merchandise. The venerable event has been held for 41 years.

If you’re one of those people who prefers to plan ahead, or you just plan on spending Saturday in the Bangor Auditorium for some reason … well … here’s what’s on tap for next weekend:

(Note: The derbies are listed according to the sponsoring organization. Each derby’s actual publicized name may be different than it appears here):

. The Sangerville Fire Department derby, Feb. 22, on Harlow Lake, Manhanock Lake, and Center Pond.

. Northern York County Rod & Gun Club Derby, Feb. 22, at Balch Pond in Acton.

. Windham Rotary Charitable Trust derby at Sebago Lake, Feb. 22-23.

. Wiscasset Rod & Gun Club derby, Feb. 22-23, statewide.

. Norway-Paris Fish & Game Association derby, Feb. 22-23, all area lakes.

. Farmington Chamber of Commerce derby, Feb. 23, on Clearwater Lake.

. Conners Emerson School derby, Feb. 23, on all legal waters of Hancock County.

. Mexico Lions Club derby, Feb. 23, on Roxbury Pond.

. Muskie Center derby, Feb. 23, statewide.

. Winthrop Fire Department derby, Feb. 23, statewide.

ASF plans dinner

Anglers who share a passion for what some call the world’s premier game fish will gather in March at the 13th annual Atlantic Salmon Federation dinner.

Proceeds from the dinner, auction, and raffles will be directed toward the Atlantic Salmon Federation’s efforts to restore Maine’s Atlantic salmon rivers.

This year’s dinner is scheduled for March 29 at the Sheraton in South Portland.

The dinner festivities begin at 5:30 p.m.; with registration. A silent auction and raffles will be held from 6-7:30 p.m. A buffet dinner followed by a live auction is slated for 7:30 p.m.

Among the items up for bid will be classic rods and reels, angling adventures in the U.S. and Canada, original art, and L.L. Bean sports items.

This year’s auctioneer will be Bill Green of WCSH-TV in Portland.

Dinner tickets are available for $75 per person, while a conservator ticket costs $1,000. A conservator table (for eight) is available for $2,500 and an underwriter table costs $5,000.

To submit an item for publication in the Outdoor Notebook, send e-mail to jholyoke@bangordailynews.net, fax to 990-8092 or mail information to Outdoor Notebook, Bangor Daily News, PO Box 1329, Bangor, Maine, 04402-1329.