Considering the weights of the winning fish in last weekend’s Hancock County Ice Fishing Derby, I’ll say Green Lake will be a busy place this weekend. Beech Hill Pond and Alligator Lake wouldn’t be bad bets either.

See what you think: In the landlocked salmon category, Brian Carroll took first prize with a 4-pound, 10-ounce Green Lake “landlock” that measured 22 inches from stem to stern. Bud Pomeroy snagged second prize with a 4-pound, 7-ounce salmon caught at Alligator Lake. That fish also measured 22 inches. Troy Jellison put the third-prize fish on ice when he relieved Beech Hill Pond of a 4-pound, 6-ounce landlock that measured 22 1/2 inches. You’ll probably agree that salmon that size are enough to make you forget to water the beans.

Now take a look at the weights and measures of the derby’s top three togue: A 10-pound, 4-ounce “laker” measuring 30 1/2 inches won first prize for Wayne Clark. Charlie Phippen won second prize with a 9-pound, 11-ounce togue that measured 29 inches and Ralph Hooper went home with an 8-pound, 2-ounce, 28-inch specimen that made him the third-prize winner. All three of those togue took baits fished beneath Green Lake’s frozen water.

Lloyd King won first prize in the brook trout category with an Alligator Lake “brookie” that weighed 2 pounds, 10 ounces and measured 18 inches. Robert Defarges’ second-prize trout taken from Goose Pond had 2 pounds, 9 ounces packed into its 19-inch length and Errol Dodge went to Douglas Pond to win third prize with a 1-pound, 13-ounce trout sporting 15 1/2 inches of speckled scales.

Wayne Shappy won the brown trout category by evicting a 3-pound, 2-ounce Branch Pond tenant that was 2 inches short of 2 feet. Nice trout, wouldn’t you say?

Winners in the pickerel division were: first prize, David Dunton, 4 pounds, 24 1/2 inches, Graham Lake; second prize, Byron Brown, 3 pounds, 12 ounces, 24 1/2 inches, Green Lake; and third prize, Nathan Moseley, 3 pounds, 12 ounces, 24 1/2 inches, Great Pond. Those pickerel aren’t too shabby, either.

Now, go hone your hooks.

As for the heavyweight Shore Prizes, Beecher Whitcomb of Winterport towed home the boat, motor and trailer. Harvey Storman of Ellsworth won a .30-30 Marlin rifle that he’ll have to sight in. Both prizes were donated by Webber Energy Fuels of Bangor.

Bill Hart of Carmel won the Grand Prize “Discovery” Old Town canoe donated by H.E. Sargent Inc. Scott Richardson of Clifton won the runnerup prize, a four-man portable ice shack donated by Maine Distributors of Bangor.

Ralph Nodine of Jonesboro informs us there is room for a few more pack baskets in the Trapper Education Course offered by the Pleasant River Fish and Game Conservation Association. Luther Choate will be the “head guide” for the course that will be conducted on March 24, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the association’s handicapped-accessible clubhouse in Columbia Falls. It’s no secret that Choate’s widely recognized trapping experience and expertise attracts course participants from all corners of the state each year.

For further information or to enroll in the Trapper Education Course contact: Luther Choate, 483-6643; John Trapp, 497-2032; Charlie Robbins, 546-7327. Your name, age, address and telephone number will be required for enrollment. Because the course is conducted outdoors, dress accordingly.

As an aside, Choate believes problems associated with beavers result not from the animals moving into populated areas, but by the encroachment of civilization on beaver habitats. I’ll buy that. We’re the intruders, not wildlife. Choate also questions fisheries biologist Ron Brokaw’s theory that beaver dams degrade trout habitat.

Nodine feels there is a need for more trappers to protect wildfowl and upland game. He refers to the Delta Waterfowl Foundation’s studies of duck-nesting success in areas where predators were trapped. Accordingly, nesting success increased from 14 percent to 71 percent in the first year.

If you’re one of the many Maine sportsmen who have become interested in bow hunting, you may want to mark March 9 on your calendar. That’s the date of the Maine Bowhunters Association’s banquet that will be held 5-10 p.m. at the Augusta Elks Lodge on Route 27. Guest speakers are: the ubiquitous George Smith, executive director of the Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine; Chris Drew, Baxter State Park ranger; Gary Anderson, safety officer of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; Edgar Simonton and Harvey Libby, scorers for the Maine Antler Skull and Trophy Club; Dave Peppard, game warden and coordinator of the DIFW’s Operation Game Thief and Sportsman-Landowner Relations programs.

A feature item of the evening’s auction is a homemade Queen-size quilt. For further information and ticket reservations – couples $28, singles $15, children ages 3-10, $6 – contact Terrence Estes, RFD 4, Box 2740, Winslow 04901. Phone: 872-8198. Tickets will not be sold at the door.