Fly fishing for trout on Split Rock Pond, Bowtown Township, Maine (May 26, 2014)

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The team strategizing before paddling onto Split Rock Pond...

The team strategizing before paddling onto Split Rock Pond…

Split Rock Pond is a completely undeveloped 6-acre pond nestled on the lower flank of Otter Pond Mountain within the Pierce Pond watershed (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). This shallow water body has an average depth of 5 ft and a maximum depth of 15 ft. The bottom consists mostly of soft organic muck and the water is slightly colored. Access to this pond is via unmarked foot trails through the woods. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. The fishing rules are strict, as follows: (a) the pond is closed to ice fishing and is open to fishing from May 1 to September 30; (b) fly fishing only, and (c) the daily bag limit on trout is two fish with a minimum length of 10”, only one of which may exceed 12”. Click here for more details on the regulations.

 

 

 

 

 

That's how Split Rock Pond got its name!

That’s how Split Rock Pond got its name!

 

 

Salvi, Bill, Joel and I are spending the long Memorial Day weekend at Cobb’s Camp on Pierce Pond. We decide to motor up to the end of Middle Pond by the Thoroughfare and hike for about 25 minutes to spend two hours fly fishing on Split Rock Pond. This pond can be a lot of fun if the mayflies are hatching and the trout are on them. Note that the only reasonable way to fish is from a small craft. We picked up the keys at Cobb’s Camp to unlock the camp’s row boat and canoe stored on shore. We reach the pond around 10 am, eager for some fast action, as we have experienced in the past. We’ve often seen the surface of the pond, particularly the deep hole to the left of the split rock, dimpled with dozens of continuous rises by brookies feeding on emerging aquatic bugs. But that is not the case today: when we arrive, we do not observe a single rise, the wind is blowing hard from various and unpredictable directions, and the sun is playing hide and seek with the clouds…

 

The sum total of all that Grand Strategizing!

The sum total of all that Grand Strategizing!

I’m fishing with Joel on the canoe and Salvi fishes with Bill in the row boat. I’m using a Mickey Fin wet fly, as well as a dark-colored woolly bugger on a sinking line, whereas Joel uses a dry fly and an emerger tied in tandem. We start at the deep hole and generate no interest whatsoever from our scaly friends. We drift to the opposite (shallower) end of the pond after about one hour to continue our quest for brookies by fishing around submerged trees along the shoreline. That type of structure represents good trout habitat in these small and relatively featureless remote ponds. But not today… Even though we know that Split Rock Pond is stuffed with brook trout, the fish are not revealing themselves on the water surface nor are they interested in any of our fly offerings. Bill, however, saves the trip by finally catching a 5” brookie on a dry fly! It’s actually more exciting than it sounds because this little fish is Bill’s very first trout caught on a dry fly. We all have to start somewhere : )

 

 

 

 

The results: Four grown men fly fished a 6-acre pond stuffed with brook trout for 2 hours and succeeded in landing one tiny, but important, 5” brook trout….

Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions. Also, feel free to discuss your fishing experiences at this location.

 

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