For black crappie action, Scott Pond in Fitzwilliam, Contoocook Lake, Meetinghouse Pond, Monomonac Lake and Highland Lake are all good bets. Highland Lake also offers some good bass fishing, as does Baboosic Lake in Amherst, Center Pond in Nelson and Horace Lake in Ware.

In the northwoods country, Big Diamond Pond, the Connecticut lakes and Greenough Pond have been producing good catches of lake trout the past few winters and should be hot again this season.

For northern pike action, try Dodge, Flag or Jericho ponds, or Ogontz or Partridge lakes.

For more information, contact the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department at (603) 271-3211; or visit www.wildlife.state.NH.us.

VERMONT
Lake Champlain gets much of the attention in Vermont. It's big, offers plenty of room to explore and has one of the most diverse fisheries in the world, ranging from landlocked salmon and lake trout to all the common warmwater species. The big lake doesn't freeze completely each winter, but most years, many of its bays and shallower shoreline stretches offer good fishing.

Much of the best trout and bass fishing will be found in the main lake, roughly from the Champlain Bridge north to the Champlain Islands and west along the islands to the Quebec border. There's 12 miles of open water here, so finding a place to fish won't be a problem.

The southern portion of the lake is best for walleyes, sauger, white perch and pike. The largemouth action can be good as well. Another good section to try is Mallets Bay. Completely within the state of Vermont, it offers good opportunities for salmon, pike, walleyes, yellow perch and largemouth and smallmouth bass.

The Inland Sea area, from the Sandbar causeway north almost to the Quebec border, the Champlain islands on the west and the Vermont mainland on the east, offers a mix of deep water studded with small islands and shallow bays. It is a good spot for salmon and various warmwater species. Missisquoi Bay in the far north is rather shallow, and offers great winter fishing for walleyes, sauger, bass and pike.

For more information on winter fishing opportunities in Lake Champlain, ice conditions and other particulars, contact the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce at 1-877-686-5253 or (802) 863-3489, or visit the chamber's Web site at www.Vermont.org.

It's easy to forget that there's great winter trout angling throughout Vermont. In the Northeast Kingdom, Lake Memphremagog offers rainbow and brown trout, landlocked salmon and bass, especially in the South Bay area; plus walleyes, pickerel and big yellow perch.

Other top waters in the region include Caspian Lake in Greensboro for lake trout, Seymour Lake in Morgan and Lake Willoughby in Westmore for lake trout and salmon. Lake Willoughby has been producing some good rainbow trout and Seymour Lake is home to some lunker browns and lakers.