People are already ice fishing

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff

Mainers are already taking advantage of the ice on some of the dozens of lakes and ponds where it’s legal to fish year round.

Ice fishing begins on most of the state’s lakes and ponds that allow it on Jan. 1, 2025, primarily in the southern zone. Ice fishing in the northern zone is allowed on certain lakes and ponds but is not on waters where the state is managing conservation efforts for native species.

Early season freezing attracts a group of hardcore fishermen who venture out on even just an inch and a half of ice. Some western Maine lakes and ponds already have 4 inches.

The Maine Warden Service doesn’t recommend walking on ice as thin at an inch and a half for safety reasons. 

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recommends a minimum of 4 inches of good ice before walking on it. Good ice is defined as new, clear blue ice. White ice, which has snow in it, is only half as strong as good ice, according to the department’s website.

A rough guide the department provides on its ice safety page says it’s safe to walk on 4-6 inches of good ice; snowmobiles and ATVs can go on 5-7 inches; 8-12 inches supports cars or small trucks; and 12-15 inches should hold a medium-sized truck.

The department qualifies that these guidelines are meant for good quality new ice.

The ice fishing season last season was disrupted on several popular lakes and ponds because of the winter’s unusually warm temperatures. Some lakes didn’t freeze and others had very unreliable ice.

People went through the ice on snowmobiles on more than one occasion in 2024 and one man died when his ATV broke through.