Having observed many anglers over the years using different angling techniques to catch fish through the ice, I sometimes wonder what they will think of next in their pursuit of landing a trophy. Each geographic area of the United States has its own contribution to the variety of tackle used to ice fish. In the state of Maine, I have seen several unique ice fishing implements.

On Sheepscot Lake and nearby waters, I have observed what resembles a school of wooden fish scattered on the surface of the ice. The wooden fish are used to indicate to the angler whether a fish is on or not. The familiar balanced tip-up works on a similar principle, with this trap there is a fish on your line when the tail of the wooden fish is up. Furthermore, on this trap, the reel is above the water.

Most anglers in Maine use the standard tip-up to fish through a hole that has been drilled through the ice. Tip-ups are devices that trip a flag which springs up and indicates when a fish is on the baited hook. The reel holding the line is under the surface of the water.

I still have a set of Cameron traps that were built by the late Sperry Cameron, the hatchery supervisor at Embden Hatchery back in the early 1970s. There is nothing unique about them, but they do have some sentimental value and they still catch fish. They are built like the popular standard tip-up.

I recently had a set of traps built by Mark Damren, currently the assistant supervisor at Governor Hill Hatchery. Although this type of trap is most often seen on the Belgrade Lakes, they also are sometimes used on other waters. These traps do not utilize the standard reel that permits the line to peel off when a fish is hooked.

Instead the baited hook on your line goes through an eye ring on the tip of the spring steel that pulls the flag down towards the hole.

The "perch trap" indicates a fish is on when the flag drops. Most anglers using these devices have their traps in very close proximity to one another. As I witnessed once myself, when a school of perch goes through, all flags are sometimes pulled down almost simultaneously.

This winter I saw an interesting device for the first time. It used the standard fishing pole with a spinning reel attached.

The bent pole was attached to a spring lever that releases when a fish takes the bait on the end of the line. The reel bail is left open. As line peels line off, the straightened pole alerts the angler that a fish is on.

I should not forget the very common practice of jigging. When jigging, an angler stands over a hole with a short rod or hand line that has terminal tackle consisting of a lead fish, lure or bait.

This technique is used on many waters and can produce some remarkable fishing. I have seen togue up to 25 pounds jigged through the ice, and I myself have gotten into a school of perch that I jigged as many as I needed or wanted to spend time cleaning.

So with a good month of ice fishing left, the adventurous angler needs to get out and try one of the implements or techniques that I have mentioned as central Maine waters are able to provide any number of fish that an angler desires.

-- Bill Woodward, Fishery Biologist, Belgrade Lakes Region