General view of Otter Pond #2, with the railroad tracks in the background
Otter Pond #2 is located in Standish (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). This pond is one of four small ponds located right off Route 35 (Chadbourne Road). Access to the pond is on foot from the two parking lots located on either side of the bridge over the old railroad tracks. The shortest way in is to walk about a quarter mile on the tracks until the pond appears on the right. Joel and I instead take the long way in (> 0.5 mile), via the Mountain Division Trail which starts at the largest of the two parking lots. We are wheeling Joel’s canoe, and all our fishing gear, on this nice gravel road which passes next to Otter Pond #2. Our goal today is to troll for trout.
Wheeling our gear into Otter Pond #2
Otter Pond #2 is located in a small nature preserve which is completed wooded and undeveloped (except for a YMCA summer daycamp). This small pond covers 12 acres, with a maximum depth of 39 ft and a mean depth of 11 ft. The bottom consists of clean sand and the water is crystal clear. The State nicely stocks this pond with brook trout each spring and fall. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information..
We start fishing at 9 am. The weather is overcast and cool. The water temperature is 46°F. There is little or no wind. We troll all around the periphery of the pond. Our fish finder marks lots of fish in the water column. But the trout appear to be lock-jawed… We try all the small spoons in our arsenal, we cast spinners, we jig, we use a woolly bugger and a small soft stickbait but catch nothing after two hours of non-stop fishing… We know that the pond was recently stocked and we see the f@#*#^g fish on the fish finder, so why are we skunked?!
Joel shows off a nice brook trout from Otter Pond #2
I mention to Joel that when we ice fish Otter Pond #2, we catch trout by placing baitfish halfway down the water column but in less than 10 ft of water. A new – and at this point desperate – plan develops around this observation, as follows: (a) seek out 7-10 ft of water right along the shoreline, (b) troll 4-5 ft below the surface using our down-riggers, and (c) fish with a small silver-colored Jake’s Trout Spin-a-Lure. The change in strategy yields immediate results: Joel catches a 9” brookie within 10 minutes and then hooks a serious 16” trout five minutes later!! Woow, we finally figured out their game. We attain fishing Nirvana over the next two hours when we land 15 trout of which eight exceed 13”. We also “double-hook” twice, when both Joel and I catch a fish at the same time. As a bonus, most of the large trout have beautiful spawning colors. Unfortunately, it’s now 1 pm and we have to pack up and head back home, even though the fish are still active. I’m just so glad we stuck it out, paid our dues, and reaped the rewards.
The results: I caught six brook trout (largest = 14.5”) and Joel caught 9 brook trout (largest = 16”) in 4 hours of fishing.
Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions by posting a comment. Also, feel free to tell us about your fishing experiences on Otter Pond #2.
