AUBURN – Although conditions weren’t ideal for the opening of the 2004 fishing season Thursday, it appeared the fish were willing to cooperate. At dawn, it was overcast, drizzly, the mercury hovering around 40 degrees and there was a biting breeze.

But that didn’t deter anglers from wetting a line wherever there was open water. And those areas were at a premium. Lake Auburn is still heavily packed with ice. Only traces of open water are visible at the popular early fishing areas along Lake Shore Drive.

Phil Picard of Mechanic Falls was fishing at the lake just beyond Taber’s Lakeside Stand. He and his buddy, Mike Roy of Minot, had arrived at the area about 9:30 the previous night. They set up camp, including a makeshift covering that came in handy when the skies opened up. “We played cribbage and stuck it out under cover during the heavy rain,” said Picard. Fishing was legal as of 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

There was only a couple of feet of open water along the rocky shoreline where the duo were fishing. Shortly after 6:30 a.m., Picard was explaining the art of baiting the hook with a live smelt and letting the bait swim under the ice to deeper water. Suddenly, his line went taught.

“Phil’s got a bite and the line is taking off like crazy,” said an excited Roy as he alerted the many other fishermen nearby.

The spinning reel was screeching as the lunker on the other end began swimming to deeper water. Picard set the hook and realized he had snagged a big one. “This is a thrill,” said Picard as he battled the fish. “But now I’ve got to land him.”

Wayne Hathorne of Litchfield, fishing nearby, arrived with a net and offered encouragement. Suddenly the fish made one last burst to freedom and the line snapped. “Too much tension. I should have let him run,” said a disappointed Picard.

Other hungry fish were starting to bite during those early hours. Hathorne noted that a short time earlier, he had strikes on both of his two lines. He quickly retrieved the lines, but both the bait and fish were gone.

At the Townsend Brook culvert on Lake Shore Drive, Maurice Ayotte of 128 Hampshire St., Auburn., and Brett Leighton of Winthrop were enjoying a breakfast of venison, home fries and hot coffee. They arrived at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and set up a lean-to. During the night, an Auburn police officer arrived at scene. “He wanted to know what we were doing,” offered Ayotte. “I guess he was new. He checked in with headquarters and found out we were perfectly legal.”

Ayotte noted that he caught a 3-pound pickerel earlier in the morning.

There is only about a 70-by-20-foot wide swath of open water at the Townsend Brook culvert. But at 6:30 a.m., four boats were crowded into that area.

It appears Lake Auburn won’t be free of ice until the latter part of the month. The latest ice-out date is May 6, in both 1939 and 1940. Last year’s date was April 26.

Although it felt more like winter than spring, most of the early-bird fishermen were just happy to be wetting a line on April 1. “It might seem silly for me being out here in this weather,” offered Leighton. “But it’s like the beginning of summer.”