By John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor It’s that time of year again: Lakes are freezing up (finally, we hope), anglers are gathering up their gear, and before long, the sound of power augers will be piercing the silence on our favorite lakes and ponds.

By John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor The three-day first half of a popular ice fishing derby on Moosehead Lake will take place this weekend, but organizers say ice conditions on the state’s largest lake are highly variable, and anglers should use extreme caution.

By The Associated Press Hikers are being told by the agency that oversees the Appalachian Trail to postpone plans to cover the nearly 2,200-mile distance this year due to COVID-19.

By Rhonda Arey SHIRLEY — We have enough snow to snowmobile.

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff Dates for a virtual state cheering championship meet have been announced.

By David Marino Jr.

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff The move by the Maine Principals’ Association and officials at several state agencies to allow schools in “yellow” counties to participate in interscholastic athletics and other school-based activities finally represents an alignment of those programs and private, youth-based entities.

By Pete Warner, Bangor Daily News Staff The state has restored some of the decision making about conducting high school athletics during the COVID-19 pandemic to local districts.

Event Date: Wednesday, Jan.

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News Staff A Knox County developer and Louisiana nonprofit are proposing to build a year-round resort with new ski lifts, a hotel, marina, condominiums and more at the site of a longtime ski area overlooking Moosehead Lake that has fallen into disrepair.

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff The Maine high school basketball tournament normally marks an annual rite of renewed relationships for Suzanne Fletcher and the staff at Timber Kitchen and Bar in Bangor.

By V.

By Larry Mahoney, Bangor Daily News Staff The weekend of Jan.

By John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor Back in the olden days (as my stepchildren might call those times when I was their age, and cell phones hadn’t even been invented), I was not an ice fisherman.

By John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor In years when the weather is finicky, the state’s largest lake — Moosehead — can take its sweet time making ice that’s safe enough to travel on.

By George Smith The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife has submitted seven bills to the Maine Legislature.

By Ernie Clark, Bangor Daily News Staff Applying coronavirus-related guidelines for community sports around the state has spawned some confusion since the outset of the pandemic in Maine last March — and it continues.

By John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News Outdoors Editor Early season weather that was more fitting for a day at the beach than a Maine moose hunt didn’t slow the state’s hunters last fall.