As anglers consider their 2006 fishing vacations, it's good to know that careful fisheries management and better conservation practices are paying off with everything from plentiful panfish to gear-busting saltwater action. Here are a few of the best spots to wet a line no matter when you go in 2006.

JANUARY
Rainbow Trout
Crystal Lake, Conn.
This 200-acre lake is stocked with rainbows and brood-stock brown trout. Most browns weigh between 2 and 5 pounds, with a few hitting the 8-pound mark. Try jigging about a foot off the bottom using small pieces of cut bait. Crystal Lake is at the Route 30 and Route 140 intersection in Ellington. Access to the west side of the lake is off Route 30.

Brook Trout
Prong Pond, Maine
Fall stocking is paying off for winter anglers on Prong Pond, with many nice brookies coming up through the ice. Prong Pond is about seven miles from Greenville off the Lily Bay road.

Atlantic Salmon
Stafford Pond, R.I.
Surplus Atlantic salmon brood stock were recently stocked into Stafford Pond, along with a hefty stocking of trout. Stafford is stocked each fall and spring. Salmon average 5 to 8 pounds each, with a few 14-pounders. A current fishing license and a Trout Conservation Stamp are required to keep or possess salmon. The best access is off Route 81 on the left side of the highway.

FEBRUARY
Landlocked Salmon
West Grand Lake, Maine
Anglers can anticipate great action here from both salmon and trout. If smelt or shiners don't attract some action, try jigging a small Swedish Pimple or lime green Weeping Willow several feet under the ice throughout the day. Also, worth a try is working a jig about a foot off bottom in 25 to 40 feet of water using small pieces of cut bait.

Lake Trout
Silver Lake, N.H.
Silver Lake in Harrisville gives up plenty of plump rainbows and lakers. Follow the tried-and-true "big bait for big fish" rule, or use cut suckers on bucktails or airplane jigs, which attract big fish and provide a better chance for modest-sized fish. Chumming, which can lure lake trout to your ice-fishing holes, is legal in New Hampshire.

Northern Pike
Onota Lake, Mass.
Onota Lake's 617 acres in the cold northwest region of the state offer some of the hottest action of the season for pike. Ice-anglers can also pull trout, perch and largemouth bass up through the ice. The best access is off Lakeway Drive in Pittsfield.

MARCH
Lake Trout
Caspian Lake, Vt.
Caspian Lake in Craftsbury is home to lake trout, rainbows and browns. Last year, the lake gave up the new state-record lake trout, a 32- pound specimen. Minnows and wax worms are popular live baits here. Follow Route 14 south from Albany.

Crappies
Connecticut River, N.H.
The Connecticut River setbacks from Hinsdale to Hanover produce some nice spring black crappies, yellow perch, pike and walleyes. Find access and parking in Hinsdale off Route 119 to Prospect Street at the Prospect Street Boat Launch.

Splake
Seboeis Lake, Maine
Many Seboeis Lake splake tip the scales at over 4 pounds. This brook trout-rainbow hybrid has company, as good-sized salmon, bass, pickerel and white perch also feed beneath the ice here.

Access Seboeis via the North Maine Woods gate at Oxbow.