POLAND — In the earliest hours of 2019, Rian Nilsson of Winthrop ventured through the darkness to his coveted spot on Middle Range Pond in Poland.

“I made sure to get down here and beat everyone to my spot,” he said.

Nilson, who arrived about 4:30 a.m., caught two brook trout before the sun came up. Later in the morning, he met up with buddy Matthew Hunt of Turner.

Many lakes and ponds in Maine opened for live bait ice fishing Jan. 1. And for the first time this year, ice fishing traps were scattered across the lake as patient anglers waited for orange flags to spring up.

Nilson and Hunt said they had an eventful — and wet — day on the ice. Slushy snow fell Monday night, followed by a warmer Tuesday, which caused a melt that created a soupy, freezing layer of slush atop Middle Range’s 6 inches of ice.

“If you don’t have the right boots, you’re in trouble,” Nilsson said. “My buddies have some cold feet today.”

Added Hunt, “I brought two pairs of boots so I wouldn’t end up like them.”

Earlier in the day, Nilsson and Hunt said they saw four-wheelers and snowmobiles cruising the shoreline of the pond; however, much of Middle Range was still moving water, and there was open water in the middle of the lake and some inlets were also not safe.

But, for the most part, anglers enjoyed 6 to 10 inches of solid ice.

At about 2:30 p.m., Nilsson and Hunt said they were still going strong. Running for a flag, Nilson said he had not been able to pull himself off the ice.

“I wanted to leave at noon, then we started to get a little more action and we couldn’t leave,” he said. “The first day was a good day for sure.”

In anticipation of the big bait day, Russ Estes, manager at Shaker Hill Outdoors in Poland, said he saw an influx of customers seeking shiners and smelts, the small fish commonly used as bait.

“It’s been a better than average day,” he said. “We were very busy yesterday, with people getting ready for today, picking stuff up the day before.”

Estes said that for years, Jan. 1 marked the first day of ice fishing, a kind of holiday for anglers.

Many small ponds and specific waters have been open for fishing, but Tuesday marked the first day it was legal to use live bait on almost every lake and pond in the region.

“It’s the big kickoff to the year, and it’s really nice we have early, good ice like this,” Estes said. “With everything closed, there’s not a lot of things to do today. A lot of people will set this day aside to go ice fishing.”

Thick ice is the foundation of a successful fishing season, of course, and about 4 inches is typically considered safe for fishing.

Wayne Berzinis, owner of Sebago Bait in Windham, said many places in southern Maine are now fishable.

On Tuesday, after working in the shop, he headed out to Little Sebago in Windham. Little Sebago consists of three “lakes” connected by channels.

Berzinis was out on the upper lake, where he measured 10 inches of ice. 

‘There’s plenty of ice out there,” he said.

Berzinis said he has heard Trickey Pond in Naples and Moose Pond in Bridgton were both relatively safe, too.

However, Sebago Lake, known as “Big Sebago,” is still wide open.

Estes and Shawn Norton, manager of Monmouth-based ice fishing outfitter and trap maker Jack Traps, said the early cold will make for a longer, safer season.

“This year has been a really, really good early season, with a decent amount of ice,” Estes said.

Norton said cold weather and a lack of snow have been beneficial to anglers, and recent warm spells, although certainly not helpful, have not done much to harm the solid foundation of ice.

“The biggest inhibitor of ice growth is when it’s insulated by snow,” Norton said. “When you start getting single-digit ice, it piles on.”

Norton said the weather is a balancing act.

“It’s kind of a fine line between too cold,” he said. “It can get so cold no one wants to go out. In the extended forecast I’ve looked at, it’s cold enough to be building ice, but warm enough to still go out.” 

Jon Call of Sebago drills a hole while he and Kelly Dempsey of Auburn fish through the ice on Upper Range Pond in Poland on New Year’s Day. “We spent the whole morning chasing flags,” Call said as he stood on 10 inches of ice. Call and Dempsey caught three brook trout, a bass and a pickerel on the first day that fisherman could use live bait. Call said Jan. 1 is referred to as the “Black Friday” for ice fishermen. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Todd Farwell of New Gloucester pulled a rainbow trout through the ice while fishing with buddies on Upper Range Pond in Poland on Tuesday. “The fish have been hitting flags all day,” said James Gilmore of East Poland. “They’re hungry.” (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

“It’s a beautiful day,” said James Gilmore, far left, of East Poland as he fished through the ice with Todd Farwell and Ryan Moreau on Upper Range Pond in Poland on Tuesday. Jon Call of Sebago said Jan. 1 is called “Black Friday” for fishermen because New Year’s Day is the first day on which live bait is allowed on lakes and ponds that have trout and salmon. (Sun Journal photo by Daryn Slover)

Rian Nilsson of Winthrop shows off his catches Tuesday. Nilsson arrived at Middle Range Pond in the predawn hours and said he had a productive day chasing flags on the ice. (Sun Journal photo by Jon Bolduc)