‘Tis the season to forget the bad, remember the good, and show generosity to all. With those thoughts in mind, here are a few outdoor wishes for the upcoming year.

. To those who love to ride snowmobiles, and those who make their living by renting and repairing them, here’s wishing for a good winter coat of snow … and quick.

The other day a co-worker greeted me with a standard “hello” that included the phrase: “Can’t ask for any better weather than this, can you?”

Yes, I can. And I will. First, I’d love to see a few days of bitterly cold weather, just to sock in the ponds and lakes for ice fishermen. Then, a foot or two of snow would be just perfect.

It’s Maine, folks. Not North Carolina. And winter is part of the bargain we made when we decided to live here.

. To those on all sides of the ongoing Allagash Wilderness Waterway discussion, I wish for a solution that would satisfy everyone.

That, I’m sorry to admit, isn’t very likely. Instead, the best we can probably hope for is a compromise that nobody loves but most will respect. Since it’s Christmastime, I’ll hold out hope for the former … and gladly accept the latter.

The fact remains that the Allagash is a special place. No one disputes that. Unfortunately, after agreeing on that point, various factions quickly find plenty to disagree about.

. To the guides of Maine, I wish you a year spent around sports who appreciate everything that Maine has to offer … even if the weather’s finicky and the blackflies sometimes bite more often than the trout.

Good Maine guides may be most often hired and appreciated by those from away, but all of us can find glimpses of our own outdoor heritage in their constant stewardship of the state’s resources.

. To the state’s fisheries biologists, I wish you a year in which you don’t have to scramble to react to the illegal stocking of non-native species in our lakes and ponds.

There are plenty of fish to go around and countless places to target any number of species.

. To those who would illegally stock those fish, here’s wishing for a conscience for all of you. And an orange suit.

Sorry. My generosity is a bit lacking when it comes to this topic.

. But while we’re working this vein, to the state’s game wardens, I wish you an honest-to-goodness lead that you can take to court in order to make an example of those bucket stockers.

. To fly fishermen, I wish you plenty of clear, running water, and the time to enjoy wading in it. I also wish you a flawless cast, with a perfect dead drift, when you need it most.

. To diehard lake trollers, I wish an early ice-out and a week’s worth of moderate “streamer chop” to make those early days worthwhile. Heck, let’s even ask the sun to shine and the temperature to rise above 50.

. To hunters, I wish you all the luck you deserve, and then some. And I wish you safe and enjoyable days afield with friends and family.

. To the Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, I wish you a generous share of state general fund money. Not that you’ll get it, mind you … but I’m wishing for it.

. And to you, readers, there’s this wish: A productive year ahead, in whichever endeavors you pursue.

And, of course, plenty of outdoor tales to share with us, should you choose.

Merry Christmas.

Pushaw pike on the move

Richard Dill, a biologist for the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission, checked in on Thursday with a decidedly discouraging report.

Dill and the Maine ASC, along with the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife, have been paying close attention to the northern pike problem in Pushaw Lake.

Officials think pike were introduced into Pushaw in the late 1990s and were first documented in 2003. The ASC is involved because Pushaw is a part of the Penobscot River watershed, and biologists fear the impact the voracious feeders may have on salmon stocks in the river.

Here’s what Dill had to say in his e-mail:

“Unfortunately, we have our first confirmed report of pike in Mud Pond,” Dill wrote. “The fish was turned in by an angler yesterday. Mud Pond is just downstream of Pushaw. Inevitably we knew that pike would migrate out of Pushaw and into Mud, but we were hopeful that it would take more time.

“The fish that was caught was female, about 20 inches long and weighed just over two pounds. The size suggests that it is two to three years old … likely spawned in Pushaw, and not one of the originally introduced fish,” he wrote.

That’s undoubtedly bad news and underscores the effort the DIF&W, the ASC, and the Pushaw Lake Snowmobile Club will undertake this winter.

The snowmobile club’s 27th annual ice fishing derby will include categories that reward anglers for turning in the most pounds of pike on each day of the tourney.

That derby is set for Feb. 3-4.

Ice forming, caution needed

While the calendar says it’s officially winter, the weather has been unseasonably warm lately. That doesn’t mean that no ice has formed, however. Nor does it mean that we ought to be overly eager to take advantage of the ponds that have formed a bit of a winter coat.

During a quick drive around Greater Bangor on Friday afternoon, I found that there is ice to be found. Whether that ice is safe – the aforementioned angler at Mud Pond must have found some – is anyone’s guess.

I did swing by Mud Pond in Old Town on my Friday drive, and it does appear to be socked in … more or less.

There was ample evidence of curious anglers, however: Plenty of large rocks littered the ice surface, likely tossed there by folks looking to gauge the thickness of the ice.

The old “throw-a-rock” trick is one of my personal favorites, too, but I’m careful not to put much stock in the results I get.

Just because a baseball-sized stone bounces on a sheet of ice, that doesn’t mean that my ample carcass won’t break through.

Many of Maine’s shallow warm-water ponds are open for ice fishing already … if there’s ice.

Sorry to beat a point to death, but there’s clearly no reason to push the season (even though several Mainers do so every year, and end up falling through thin ice).

The fish will be there later … after the ice is thick enough.

And if you think you’ve found a pond with safe ice, don’t count on it being uniformly safe at all locations. Carry an ice chisel. Check early … and often.

Be safe.

And leave the ATVs and snowmobiles on shore until winter really shows up.

John Holyoke can be reached at jholyoke@bangordailynews.net or by calling 990-8214 or 1-800-310-8600.