Category Archives: Open Water Fishing

Fishing for splake on Trickey Pond, Naples, Maine (April 24, 2020)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

Trickey Pond has a nice hard-top boat launch

 

Trickey Pond is a 311-acre body of water located in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). Public access is through a high-quality boat launch located right off Route 114 at the southern end of the pond. Ample parking is available. The pond and I are old acquaintances. I have ice fished it multiple times over the last 25 years (click here and here for recent examples) on account of its high-quality salmon, splake, and smallmouth bass fishery. In fact, I have caught my largest landlocked salmon (5.5 pounds) and splake (4.5 pounds) through the ice out of this pond. However, beware that even though the quality of the fish is high, the quantity is extremely low… One definitely has to put in the time to decipher this little gem and earn the right to land a fish.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brown trout and brook trout on Middle Range Pond, Poland, Maine (April 23, 2020)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

The passageway underneath Range Hill Road. Middle Range Pond is visible in the background.

 

Middle Range Pond is a 366-acre body of water located in Poland, Androscoggin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A3). This pond is the second of the three interconnected Range Pond chain-of-lakes (i.e., upper, middle, and lower). The middle and upper ponds actually share a public boat launch which is located off Range Hill Road, at the downstream end of upper pond. A narrow passage underneath this road allows boats to access middle pond. Plenty of parking is available at the launch site. Note that the stretch of water between this passageway and Middle Range Pond extends for about a third of a mile, is really shallow (1-2 ft deep), and overgrown with aquatic vegetation later on in the season. It is actually a great spot for catching largemouth bass in May and June, but that is not why I’m here for today.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for rainbow trout on Silver Lake in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (April 18, 2020)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre two-lobed body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). Click here for directions on how to reach this location. I note for the record that both Baxter Drive and Community Drive have a panel nailed to a tree along the side of the road stating “dead end”. Just pass those signs and keep on going until you reach the pond.

 

View of the rough boat launch with the southern lobe in the background

 

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brook trout on Charles Pond, in Georgetown, Sagadahoc County, Maine (November 9, 2019)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

Geovani casting in the basin at the outlet by the road. No easy pickings here today…

 

Charles Pond covers 14 acres and is located next to Route 127 (Five Islands Road) in Georgetown, Sagadahoc County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 D1). This location has proven to be an excellent early ice-fishing destination for me in the past (click here and here for recent examples). The pond is well stocked with trout each fall in anticipation of the hard-water season. In fact, on October 30, 2019, the state released 150 7” brookies (about 11 trout per acre) and 75 13” brookies (= about 5 trout per acre). I’m eager to tussle with those larger one-pounders this morning.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #2 in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (November 7, 2019)

Posted on by
Reply

 

Those colors…!

 

Otter Pond #2 is a 12-acre body of water located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this pond. Her and I are old acquaintances, having met many times over the years in the spring, fall, and winter. This pond is heavily stocked with brook trout each fall in anticipation of the busy ice-fishing season. In fact, on October 23, 2019, the state released 600 8” brookies (= 50 trout per acre) and 130 13” brookies (= 11 trout per acre), which add up to a lot of fish! Those bigger fish are the ones calling me in. It is high time that I pay a visit and check out the place before it starts freezing over.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (November 1, 2019)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

The first brookie of the morning. I’m on to something!

 

Chaffin Pond is a pretty 13-acre body of water located in Windham, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). Access is super-easy! Drive on Route 302 north into Windham, pass the Home Depot sign (Franklin Drive) and take the next right on Chaffin Pond Reserve Drive (Donnabeth Lippman Park) just before the Sherman Williams store. Our target is a couple of 100 ft down that ruddy dirt road. Ample parking is available. The pond and its surrounding woods once belonged to the Portland Water District which prevented any development (except for a few groundwater pump houses). The area is now a well-used municipal park where young and old come to picnic, walk the many trails, use the playground, or fish, literally smack in the middle of Windham’s busy business district!

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4 in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (October 26, 2019)

Posted on by
1

View Map

 

View of Otter Pond #4 from the beach. The best fishing is from the shore on the right-hand side of this picture.

 

Otter Pond #4, a.k.a. Snake Pond, is a 6-acre body of water located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this pond. My blog readers have asked me about locations in southern and central Maine that can be wader fished from shore in the fall without the need for a boat. This spot is one of many. We are actually old acquaintances, having met numerous times before (click here and here for examples). It is heavily stocked with brook trout in mid-October each fall in anticipation of the busy ice-fishing season. Fortunately for us, this little gem is available for open-water fishing between October 1 and November 30 using artificial lures only and with the stipulation that all trout caught must be released at once. Click here for more details on the fishing rules. Click here for a depth map.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for lake trout on Kezar Lake in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (October 19, 2019)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

I just love the way the rising sun “paints” the surrounding landscape.

 

Kezar Lake is a 2,510-acre body of water located in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D2). To reach this location, drive north on Route 5 past Lovell and turn left on West Stoneham Road. Drive on this road for about 500 ft and look for the large blue boat-launch sign. After passing the sign, turn left on North Lovell Landing Road and drive about a quarter mile all the way down to the lake. The boat launch, which is located at the north end of Upper Bay, is spacious and provides lots of parking area. The launch itself is not improved but can accommodate large boats. In fact, the lake residents use it to put in and take out their pontoon boats. I note for the record that a second boat launch is located further south, by the Narrows on West Lovell Road, between Middle and Lower Bay. I don’t use that launch today because I aim to catch lake trout and landlocked salmon which are more abundant in the deeper Upper Bay.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brown trout on Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (October 12, 2019)

Posted on by
Reply

View Map

 

The boat launch is unimproved, steep, and gravelly…

 

Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). To reach this location, drive on Route 27 north (towards Belgrade), turn left on Summerhaven Road, go for about 0.6 miles before turning left on Baxter Drive, drive for about 0.2 miles and turn right on Community Drive. The southern lobe of the pond will soon appear on your right. The public boat launch consists of loose gravel and is otherwise unimproved, but can accommodate small trailered boats. However, keep in mind that the launch is fairly steep; I had to use four-wheel drive to pull my boat up the wet and gravelly incline on my way out. In addition, the water by the launch is rather shallow, which requires backing into the lake a fair bit before the boat will float off. I also had to put on my hip boots to manually guide my boat back on the trailer on account of the shallow depth by the launch. Parking space is limited on Community Drive and occurs along the side of the road next to the launch.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Fishing for brown trout on Biscay Pond in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (September 28, 2019)

Posted on by
2

View Map

 

View of the sandy boat launch. The picture does not do justice to the wind howling down the length of the pond.

 

Biscay Pond is a 377-acre body of water located in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 A4). To reach this location, drive on Route 1 into downtown Damariscotta, turn onto Biscay Road (by the McDonald’s restaurant), and drive down that road for about 2.5 miles. The pond will appear on your right. The boat launch is sandy and unimproved, but can accommodate large trailered boats. The biggest challenge with this launch is its shallowness, which requires backing your vehicle quite a way into the water before the boat will float. I’m very glad I brought my Jeep and hip boots! Ample parking is available along Biscay Road.

Continue reading →

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove