Just a few days ago, a friend looked me square in the eye and shared a groundhog-esque prediction that real Mainers would never consider uttering in February.

“The worst of it is over,” he said. “It’s time to start thinking about spring.”

My pal, obviously an amateur groundhog, wasn’t looking for his shadow, so I was immediately suspicious.

A few days later, here we are, digging out from under yet another sizeable snowstorm. Thanks, groundhog.

Ah, winter in Maine. The way life should be … for a polar bear.

Seriously, I love winter. And seriously, my pal might have been right … nearly … almost.

Spring is coming. Slowly. In fits and starts.

But it’s coming.

And as the days get longer and warmer, I figure it’s a perfect time to start thinking about ice fishing.

Yes, ice fishing.

I’ll admit that there’s something special about mustering the gumption to brave the elements in mid-January, head to your local pond and freeze your rump off as you wait for flags to fly.

Special. Not necessarily enjoyable. (Go ahead, call me a wimp … it has been a long winter, and I’m not feeling nearly as tough as I was back in December).

I’ll also admit that come March, the fishing gets downright enjoyable.

Give me a beautiful, bluebird March day, with temps around 30, and I’ll love it. The snow is on the cusp of melting, and you don’t need an ice shack.

Just a couple of camp chairs, a makeshift table for the piles of food you’ll undoubtedly bring, a bit of fishing gear and you’re set for the day.

The flags may fly … or they may not.

Either way, there’s no better time for ice fishing than the present.

It’s nearly spring, after all. My pal, the amateur groundhog, says so.

And there’s no sense in letting these last enjoyable days of winter slip by without thoroughly enjoying them.

Legere says togue still hungry

If you’re looking for more reasons to head out on your favorite lake for a late-season ice-fishing excursion in the coming weeks, look no further.

Dan Legere, the proprietor of Greenville’s Maine Guide Fly Shop and one of my favorite guides, checked in recently with a glowing report on the fishing in his neck of the woods.

Legere’s shop sits just a couple hundred yards from Moosehead Lake. As such, he and his wife, Penny, serve as a four-season welcoming committee to traveling sports.

Earlier this winter, a hugely popular togue-only fishing derby was held on Moosehead, and more than 2,000 lake trout were removed from the lake over a two-day span.

You might assume that fishing would get a bit tougher, with fewer togue for the taking. You might be wrong.

Legere says that ice anglers have continued to have great success on Maine’s largest lake.

Here’s some of what Legere had to say in his e-mail report:

“Last week’s subzero nights buttoned everything back up on Moosehead and surrounding lakes. We are looking at a couple of feet of ice everywhere now with good going,” Legere wrote.

“The togue fishing on Moosehead hasn’t slacked off at all. It’s great to see all the families taking advantage of the fast fishing. Lily Bay remains very productive as is the Rockwood end of the lake,” he wrote.

Legere recognizes that while anglers always say they want good fishing, some have admitted they could use an occasional break. And the Moosehead togue aren’t taking breaks.

“There was a gentleman in this weekend saying, ‘I’m getting sick of catching so many fish. I wish I could sit in my shack, look out and not see a flag up long enough so I could do a little jigging,'” Legere wrote.

Legere says the last month of ice-fishing season is a good time to get a group together and head to the lake.

“I say round the kids up and take advantage of the milder weather of March,” Legere wrote. “Spend a weekend watching the youngsters chase some flags. They’ll love it.”

In closing, Legere addressed an issue that many ice anglers have struggled with over the years.

How do you go about keeping a bucket full of smelts alive until you’re ready to use them as bait?

The veteran guide has a few tips that can keep your bait from going belly-up on you.

“It is easy enough to abuse bait and smelt are very delicate, but if you follow a few rules you too can have live smelt,” Legere wrote.

“[First], never crowd them. Three dozen to five gallons of water is plenty. [Second], leave the old galvanized bait bucket at home. Smelt do not agree with rusting metal plus the metal freezes faster and it only holds a little over a gallon of water. [Third], the best thing you can possibly do for smelt is use a cooler and line it with a trash bag to contain the water when you travel,” Legere wrote.

“When we are transporting bait, I like the bait to be in at least five gallons of water. We take along smaller bait containers to carry bait around to the traps,” he wrote.

And finally, Legere says, change the water in your bait container.

“You can not change it too often,” he wrote.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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