POLAND — Four-year-old Olivia England of Casco waggled the tip of her tiny rod over a perfectly round hole in the ice, hoping for a fish.
She didn’t catch one, but she and her family still had fun Friday as the sun was setting after a cold, sunny day of ice fishing on Range Pond.
A morning fishing derby drew roughly 1,000 people to the frozen expanse dotted with 700 slushy holes.
It was the first time the event was held at the state park.
The annual fishing derby was hosted by the Windham Rotary Club and The Kittery Trading Post, said Gary Best, assistant regional manager for the Bureau of Parks and Lands, southern region.
Volunteers fanned out over the ice early Friday, armed with power augers.
A day earlier, the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife stocked the pond with 500 brook trout. Throughout the morning, kids landed about 50 of the fish — some measuring as long as a foot — to squeals and cheers carried on a chilly wind as orange flags snapped up from about 600 ice traps that spanned the holes. Families huddled around the holes, kids wandering away, then coming back to check for nibbles.
Kittery Trading Post donated the traps that the kids got to keep after the event. Poland Spring Bottling Co. donated bottles of water for the event.
“I saw nothing but smiles on the kids’ faces,” Best said. “I’d call it a great success.”
The event was aimed at getting kids and their parents to come back to the state’s parks and try ice fishing again, Best said.
“It’s a way to get them literally ‘hooked’ on outdoor activities,” Best said.
The Department of Conservation expects to pick 10 raffle-ticket holders to win a free day pass at a state park. One raffle winner will get a season pass, Best said.
Cooper Boucher, 6, of Saco holds a 16-inch brook trout that he caught at the Kittery Trading Post Ice Fishing Derby held at Range Pond in Poland on Friday. More than 500 children participated in the fishing derby for ages 12 and younger. The pond was stocked with about 500 brook trout by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.
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