Friday was a great day for fishing at Green Lake. The sun was out, the breeze was slight (just enough to raise a bit of a salmon chop, as they say in these parts), and the temperature hovered around 50 degrees.

Of course, there were a couple of problems. First, open water fishing doesn’t generally start until April 1. And second, there was no chop – salmon or otherwise – on this Ellsworth cold-water gem.

Green Lake is (I’m sure this won’t surprise you much) covered with two feet of ice.

At least, two feet is Shawn Smith’s estimate … and he ought to know.

Smith is the owner of Blue Ribbon Decoys in Holden, and also sells live bait. On Friday, he and pal Andrew Bowden of Holden loaded a plastic sled with gear, strapped it to a willing and enthusiastic black lab named Holly, and prepared to spend another afternoon on the ice.

“I’ve been out probably three or four times a week,” Smith says, taking time out from piling buckets and fishing traps into the makeshift “dogsled.”

“They’ve been catching a lot of pretty good-sized togue, and a few small salmon,” he says.

Holly, the pooch in question, barks softly, eager to drag her sled onto the lake.

It was, after all, a great day for fishing. And though it doesn’t look like early-season trolling enthusiasts will have much success on Green Lake, late-season ice-anglers were able to get out, slather on some sunscreen, and enjoy a pleasant afternoon outdoors.

Spring has sprung, you see. If you look closely, you may even find a few hilly lawns with southern exposure turning green.

Not here.

At the boat landing in Ellsworth, mud and ice prevailed, except for a freshet of water draining off the hillside and gushing into Green Lake.

The four-foot wide brook poured into the lake near the landing with the familiar seasonal gurgle. Close your eyes, and it’s mid-May … and you’re standing beside your favorite trout brook.

Open them, and the glare off Green Lake’s ice-covered surface will make you squint.

Look just off shore, and you’ll see another problem: The ice has receded in high traffic areas – a victim, Smith says, of the sand and salt falling off trucks and cars as they drive onto the lake off the boat ramp.

What’s left is a 20-foot-wide moat of open water.

Now squint toward the distant shore … and you’ll see Smith and Bowden’s destination.

“I’ve still got [a shack out there],” Smith says, pointing at a cluster of four ice-fishing shanties several hundred yards off shore. “I’m one of those four.”

In ideal conditions, Smith would figure out a motorized way to drag his shack to shore, pull it up the boat ramp, and take it home with him.

With the moat, all that changes.

“Float it in,” Bowden says with a chuckle.

In a week or two, that may be an unattractive final option. Today, it’s not even a consideration. Not really.

Today is a fishing day.

Shack removal? That can wait until tomorrow … and that’s the plan.

“I’m sure we can get it in,” Smith says, explaining that his shack is a manageable 4-by-8-footer he plans to retrieve with a rope and some muscle power (Confidential note to Holly the sled dog: When your master asks if you want to go fishing that morning, find something else to do).

“But there’s a pretty big shack out there, and I don’t know about that one,” Smith says.

It’s easy to sit on shore … listen to the seasonal stream work its way downhill … look at the growing moat … and wonder about ice anglers.

But if you fish? Really, truly fish? You understand the mindset.

Friday was sunny and warm. The season doesn’t end until Monday. Out here, when the fish are (or may be) biting, there’s always tomorrow.

It’s not as if Smith, or the other three shack owners who’ve been too busy fishing to take their on-ice shanties off the lake, are doing anything dangerous, he says.

“The ice out there is still good,” Smith says as Holly begins to drag the sled down the hill, over the gravel, toward the (more-or-less) iced-in lake.

“It’s just the top stuff that’s melted. At the bottom, there’s still two feet of ice. It’s getting black, and it’s scary to look at, but you can walk on it.”

A couple weeks ago, the lake was socked in with 35 inches of ice. Two days ago, Smith admits, he drove his pickup out to the shack. Then the moat opened up, and he decided to hoof it.

Tomorrow, he’ll get the shack back on dry land.

“I haven’t been suckered into that yet,” Bowden quips after hearing Smith’s plan.

Over the course of an afternoon’s fishing, he’ll surely hear more. Today is for fish.

But tomorrow?

There’s always tomorrow.

Getting anglers on the water at a young age – and making sure they have the chance to catch a few fish while they’re there- are among the easiest ways to “hook” a youngster on the sport they can enjoy for life.

Jacob Gray of Bucksport is off to a great start.

While many veteran anglers introduce children to the sport with the easy-to-predict activity of a warm-water fishery, Gray wound up wrestling with a nice landlocked salmon – a cold water treasure – on his first fishing trip.

Jacob’s first fish: A 21-incher that weighed in at 31/2pounds. He caught it while fishing with at Pleasant River Lake his grandfather, Leon Atwater of Steuben.

While it may not qualify as a “wall-hanger,” the salmon surely looked big enough to young Jacob.

Congratulations.

Since I took the time to tell you all about the Sportsman’s Show in our own backyard – and since our having a booth at that show may have made those pitches seem a bit self serving – there are other shows on tap.

If you’re interested in heading north, check out our Outdoor Notebook to hear more about the Presque Isle Fish & Game Club’s annual show, which takes place April 5-6.

And if you just can’t wait that long, and really want to check out an interesting expo, head to Augusta. Today. Tomorrow. Doesn’t matter.

There, you’ll find the 23rd annual State of Maine Sportsman’s Show, which takes place at the Augusta Civic Center.

Now, when you label yourself “The State of Maine … (fill in blank here)” you’re setting a lofty goal that opens you up to criticism.

Having visited this show in the past, believe this: This show backs up its title with a ton of information and exhibits. This show does, after all, “include the largest gathering of [outdoors] experts ever to assemble under one roof in Maine.”

At least, that’s what organizers claim. And even if it’s not, at least you’ll get to check out a real live Kodiak grizzly bear that weighs in at 1,200 pounds … maybe a bit more if he got the chance to eat at Big G’s before the show.

Check it out for yourself. You won’t walk away unsatisfied … or soon. It’s a half-day commitment, to say the least.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-3100-8600.