A shack is towed Sunday onto the Kennebec River in Pittston as workers prepare Baker's Smelt Camps for guests.

Richie Potter of Baker's Smelt Camps leaps through water Sunday while installing shacks on the Kennebec River in Pittston. "I hope mother nature pulls it through this season, so we can get a full season without it melting," Potter said.

Richie Potter of Baker's Smelt Camps carries a plank across the water Sunday as a bridge to the shacks erected on the Kennebec River in Pittston. Potter worked all day Saturday and all night Sunday installing the shacks at his family's business. The subzero temperatures created one foot of ice, Potter said.

Dale Pierce, an enthusiastic year-round fisherman, has been waiting for the smelt camps in central Maine to open for the year.