It is the midpoint of the winter fishing season and that means warmer temperatures are on the way. March provides some of the best ice fi shing, especially for togue. It’s a good chance to catch a mid-winter suntan while jigging up a few lake trout.

The 2nd Annual Moosehead Lake Togue Derby was a big success. The derby was held over Super Bowl weekend on Maine’s largest lake. The weather was brisk but over 400 tickets were sold for the three-day derby. We registered 1,864 togue of all sizes over the weekend. The catch per ticket sold was just about the same as last year. This year’s biggest fish was 6.0 lbs and earned Roscoe Ryan of Warren a check for $1,500. Second and third place went to Abraham Hatch of Damariscotta and Heiko Nichols of Hartland.

More than 160 fi sh pool prizes were drawn as well. The grand door prize was an ice fi shing/camping package donated by Coleman that went to Glenn Hanna of Augusta. The second door prize was a medium Otter Sled, cover, and hitch donated by Indian Hill Trading Post of Greenville that went to Tom Tash of Dover-Foxcroft, and third prize was a nice pair of Pro-Staff binoculars donated by Nikon that went to Ed O’Neil of Beaver Cove.

We also had a report of a 14-pound cusk caught in the Rockwood area. No prize for that fish, but it was still a trophy.

Ricky Craven traveled around the lake by snow sled visiting with many of the derby contestants on Saturday. The Moosehead Lake Region Chamber of Commerce raised more than $4,000 for charities including the Natural Resource Education Center at Moosehead (NREC), a scholarship for a local high school graduate going to college in the hospitality fi eld, and to the James F. Alenson Fund. Some of these funds donated to NREC will pay for college interns this summer that will be assisting the IFW with a brook trout enhancement project in the Rockwood/Jackman area.

Many anglers donated their catch to the Hooked on Fishing wild game dinner held every fall in Dover-Foxcroft. We want to thank the Chamber, especially Bob Hamer and Craig Watt, for organizing the derby, which helps us reach our management goals for the lake as well as providing a great weekend for anglers and businesses alike. Thanks to Brad and Maggie Scott at Rockwood Bait and Tackle, and all the folks that volunteered to run the weigh stations in Greenville, Rockwood, and at the Beaver Cove Marina. And thanks to the anglers for making it a successful weekend. We’ll see you all next year!

-- Tim Obrey, Regional Fisheries Biologist, Greenville