Ice-out on Moosehead Lake was declared at 8:30 a.m. Friday.
Currier’s Flying Service made the annual call. The earliest recorded ice-out was April 14, 1945, and the latest was May 29, 1878.
A full list of ice-out dates dating back to 1848 is included below.
The call was made for decades by the late Roger Currier, founder of the company, who began flying the lake and declaring ice-out in the 1980s. His wife, Sue Currier, said those flights and annual calls became a tradition many in the region came to expect each spring.
Roger Paradise at Currier’s has handled the call since at least the 1990s. Ice-out is determined by whether the steamship Katahdin can make the trip from Greenville to Northeast Carry, according to Maine Public.
On April 8, fisheries resource biologist Jeff Bagley said anglers reported 24 inches of ice in most areas on the lower lake, with one hole measuring close to 28 inches.
Ice-out dates in recent years include April 29 last year, April 20 in 2024, April 25 in 2023, April 28 in 2022, April 16 in 2021 and May 4 in 2020.
“Still some small chunks floating around so use caution,” Currier’s said.
The declaration traditionally signals the start of the summer tourism season on one of Maine’s most popular lakes.