RAYMOND (AP) – Competitors in one of the nation’s largest ice-fishing tournaments will be eligible to enter fish from waters statewide because the unseasonably mild winter has left much of Sebago Lake ice-free.

The sixth annual Sebago Lake Rotary DerbyFest will go on as scheduled Feb. 24-26 under a contingency plan that allows entrants to fish in any ice-covered Maine waters they choose, Tom Noonan, the event’s director, said Tuesday.

Instead of being limited to togue, or lake trout, entrants can now submit any of eight species: togue, pike, black crappie, white perch, yellow perch, pickerel, muskie and brown trout.

Fishermen can bring their catch to weigh stations in Sebago, Augusta, Greenville, Brewer and Presque Isle.

The derby draws 20,000 people to the Sebago Lake region, 6,000 of whom entered the tournament last year. Other attractions range from an air show and car and motorcycle races to a vintage snowmobile show and a polar ice dip.

“We’ll still have all these other events,” said Noonan, who was concerned about prospective safety problems should 6,000 fishermen crowd onto the ice.

“Some areas have adequate ice, but there are some areas where the ice is inadequate,” he said. “By opening it up statewide, it takes the pressure off the lake.”

Sebago did not freeze at all in 2002, he said, and that year’s derby was converted to a lottery.

“We drew numbers out of the hat and just gave stuff away,” he said. “Everything became a door prize.”

This year is the first in which fish can be taken from waters statewide. Noonan said he has no idea what the switch will mean in terms of how many fishermen sign up to compete for $30,000 in cash and prizes.

“We’ll lose some, we’ll get some, and where we’ll wind up I don’t know,” he said. “Hopefully, it’s on the plus side because the charities benefit from this.”

Local charities raised just under $120,000 from last year’s DerbyFest.

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On the Net: http://www.icefishingderby.com

AP-ES-02-14-06 1618EST

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