[caption id="attachment_379" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Greg Massey and Bob Giguire proudly show one of their spring salmon.[/caption] As the lakes and ponds throughout the state are thawing after a long winter, anglers are itching to get out on the open water.

First and foremost, before we get into some fishy talk, I’d like to apologize for my absence on this blog the last several weeks. I have switched positions, headquarters, and many duties within MDIFW and will continue to post about three entries I hope you find interesting every month. I am fortunate that with my new position, I will continue to work with the hatcheries division, fisheries division, and wildlife division, and will attempt to keep the blog entries diverse.

[caption id="attachment_1010" align="alignleft" width="240"] Adult great blue heron in flight over a nest with five young.