December meeting information and a message from the 2008 Vice President - Scott Dube

With the 2008 Maine Ice Fishing Season well underway, we would like to take this opportunity to inform all Maine Ice Anglers of major changes that have recently taken place in how, where and when you can legally fish through the ice this season. I also want to let you know how you can support the FUTURE of ice fishing and where and when you can legally fish through the ice in Maine.

One of the biggest changes this season is the opening of night fishing for all species *(see below), which will have a positive impact on the ability for many of us with busy schedules to get more time on the ice.  Under this new rule, any lake or pond legally open to fishing during the day can be legally fished at night.  This law was put in effect due in large part to members and officers of Maine Ice Anglers Organization.  

Another recent change (2007) is a new daily bag limit for additional species of fish that can be fished for prior to Jan. 1st*.  In lakes and ponds dedicated as "A" waters, it is now legal to keep trout, salmon and other cold-water species. Early reports say that this new rule is very popular with ice anglers and many nice fish are being caught.      

Through the extensive efforts of the MIAA and the MDIF&W Pleasant Pond in Caratunk can now be fished through the ice!!  Prior to 2008 Pleasant Pond had never been open to ice fishing. Although regulations specify that no live fish can be used as bait (NLFAB), this new ruling opens many opportunities for anglers and should bring a boost to the local economy. Most importantly the MDIF&W hopes this effort will lead to a reduction in the Togue population thus improving the overall fishery. This was a very delicate negotiation and the MIAA asks that Ice Anglers do their part to be respectful of the camp owners and present a positive image for us all. As always the MIAA endorses Carry on - Carry off.

MIAA December Meeting
          
At the December 15th meeting of MIAA members we were fortunate to have Paul Jacques and Bobby Van Ripper of the MDIF&W on hand for a discussion prior to the members meeting. It was held at MDIF&W Region B Headquarters in Sydney at 1PM. Many items were discussed, several of the issues we were in agreement would be better for the future and would create more opportunity for ice anglers and open water fisherman alike. The areas covered were, improved stocking programs, improving public access to certain lakes and ponds, expanding dedicated "A" waters to include more lakes and ponds for an expanded season. These are just a few of the issues that were discussed and we will continue to work with MDIFW on these and other issues to improve opportunity the ice anglers of Maine.

At the conclusion of the discussion period elections were held. Jim Puckey, Lewiston was elected as President. Scott Dube, Lewiston was elected as Vice President. Dwayne Rioux, Winslow was elected as Secretary and Vern Keith, Winthrop was elected as Treasurer.  Along with the election of new officers it was also decided that we needed to raise the cost of dues, redesign the MIAA website and re-engage the membership in the organization.

The new team is currently working to achieve these goals and in fact have already tackled the dues issue. We all felt that keeping the cost of membership down was very important but at the same time we realized that we needed to do something to cover the basic costs. With that as our goal we redesigned the entire membership package and now offer different options to meet our members needs.

We have also began a major expansion of the MIAA website to include member-only forums to discuss topics of interest, special youth sections designed to get the younger generation involved and excited, up to date information on issues that concern us, links to many popular ice fishing related websites, products and information regarding techniques and a how-to section.

Long-term goals include sponsoring fundraisers to help support local charities and other local nonprofit organizations that drastically need the help. Donating through volunteering and financial support to local fishing derbies will have a positive effect on the groups organizing the events. This will in turn help expose more folks to the MIAA and should lead to more members joining.

We have the best people working to make The Maine Ice Anglers Association an organization that is dedicated to improve the future of Ice Angling in Maine and to pass along this heritage to future generations of ice anglers.

In closing, I would like to thank all of our existing members for their continued support and encourage others to join. Please contact us for more information.

* Be sure to check regulations for specific lakes and ponds in the 2008 Maine Ice Fishing Lawbook