Look for this sign on the Park Tote Road for the trail to Round Pond.
Round Pond (a.k.a. Caverly Pond) is located in the southern portion of Baxter State Park (BSP) in Piscataquis County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 51 D1). To reach this location, drive 1.1 miles on the Park Tote Road from Togue Pond Gate, the southern entrance to the park. Look for the brown “Kettle Ponds Trail” sign on your right. Very limited parking is available on the road shoulder. The pond is located about 600 ft. down a well-maintained trail. One can rent a locked BSP canoe at the put-in for 1$ per hour. Talk to the Togue Pond gate attendant to obtain the keys, if interested. I do not require this option because I brought my own craft. I do note that the BSP canoe does not have swimming vests or paddles, which the user needs to provide.
Long Pond is a 275-acre body of water located in Parsonsfield, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteermap 4 D2). Access to this pond is via a hard but poorly maintained and steeply inclined boat launch located on Road Between the Ponds, off Joe Berry Road. Note that the launch is at a 90° angle (i.e., perpendicular) to the narrow Road between the Ponds which therefore requires a tight turn when backing the boat into the water. Fortunately, this road only has light local traffic. Also, keep in mind that the depth at the launch is shallow (< 2 ft.) for 25-30 ft. out. I am glad I brought my hip boots to get into the water at the end of the trip and help guide the boat back on the trailer.
The rising sun is quickly burning off the morning fog. I love this vibe!
Horseshoe Pond is a 132-acre body of water located in the towns of Stoneham and Lovell within the boundary of the White Mountain National Forest in southern Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D1). The access point is by the outlet at the end of Horseshoe Pond Road, a well-maintained gravel road. The boat launch is unimproved but can easily accommodate small, trailered boats. Beware that motorboats with engines over six horsepower are not allowed.
My nephew Joey visits from away and asks me if I can take him smallmouth bass fishing. I want to ensure that we have a fruitful morning, so I select to visit the Kennebec River in front of the Shawmut Dam located in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 21 D3). I have had solid success at this location during two previous angling trips (click here and here for details) and hope to duplicate those past attainments with him. To reach this location, drive north out of Fairfield on Route 201 (Skowhegan Road) and turn right on Kennebec Street. Drive all the way down towards the dam and power station across from the railroad tracks. A blue boat-launch sign will direct you to the right through an open yellow gate towards the water. Keep in mind that anglers can only launch canoes and kayaks from this spot due to the shallow water and strong current. The area provides plenty of parking.
View of the Androscoggin River from the launch site
I have whiled away many memorable summer days in the past chasing smallmouth bass up and down the Androscoggin River (click here, here, and here for examples). A few spots are particularly dear to my heart and have become go-to locations when angler friends “from away” come for a visit and express an interest in catching these magnificent fighters. Bill is spending the day with me and has a very specific request: he’d like to catch bronzebacks on his fly fishing rod, which would be a first for him. I decide to hit the Androscoggin River in front of the Otis hydropower station in Livermore, Androscoggin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 A5). I have had good luck at this location in the past. Click here and here for earlier blogs on this spot and for directions on how to reach it. Keep in mind that you will need a canoe or kayak to fish this section of the river.
Our target pool this morning is located downstream of the the River Road bridge in North Conway
The fam and I are spending the long July 4th holiday week camping at Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park located right off Route 302 in Glenn, NH (see the New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer map 45 G9). This well-maintained and well-organized campground sits right next to the beautiful Saco River, which has its source in the heart of the White Mountains at Crawford Notch and flows southeasterly into Maine at Fryeburg. I brought my fly-fishing gear in order to catch some of the numerous trout that call this river home. My target this morning is a large, slow-moving pool located just downstream of the bridge on River Road in downtown North Conway. Keep in mind that this general location turns into a circus during the summer months as it is a popular take-out point for hordes of people floating down the Saco River on tubes from further upstream. Kids also use several rope swings along the banks of the pool to jump into the water. The only time to properly fish this section is early in the morning before the crowds arrive or late in the evening after the crowds have left. Parking is available in a small area along the shoulder of River Road opposite the bridge. Keep in mind that the maintained parking lot next to the bridge is managed by the town of North Conway. It costs $20 to park there after 8 am, when an attendant is present to collect the fee.
Parts of the unimproved forest road leading into Moose Pond have been ripped open by four-wheelers during mud season.
Moose Pond covers 11 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). This pond can be reached as follows: from North New Portland (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 E2), drive north on Long Falls Dam Road for about 24.5 miles and turn right on Carrying Place Road at the sign for Cobb’s Camps. Drive down this gravel logging road for 10.1 miles until the yield traffic sign and turn left on Bowtown Road (note: Google Maps calls this road “Otter Pond Road”). Pass Harrison Camp on the left, cross Pierce Pond Stream and drive for another 4 miles or so until the road forks. Hang a right at that fork and look for a rough and unimproved forest road to your right a couple of hundred feet further down. Don’t bother driving down this forest road in the spring because several sections of it have been plowed open by four-wheelers and 4X4 vehicles during Mud Season, creating deeply-rutted pools of soft mud. It’s about a half-mile walk from Bowtwon Road to the pond.
King Pond covers 16 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). Five of us are spending four fabulous days during the long Memorial Day weekend fishing Pierce Pond for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, as well as some of the smaller water bodies in the surrounding watershed for brook trout. We are staying “in style” at one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Sporting Camps located on the shore of the lower basin of Pierce Pond. A critical benefit of staying at Cobb’s Camp is access to their locked canoes that are strategically stored at various local ponds, plus detailed directions on the locations of the trailheads that connect Pierce Pond to those water bodies. King Pond is publicly accessible from land, although I have not attempted to reach it via the old logging roads and trails shown on map 30 A2.
Split Rock Pond covers 6 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). Five of us are spending four fabulous days during the long Memorial Day weekend fishing Pierce Pond for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, as well as some of the smaller water bodies in the surrounding watershed for brook trout. We are staying “in style” at one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Sporting Camps located on the shore of the lower basin of Pierce Pond. A critical benefit of staying at Cobb’s Camp is access to their locked canoes that are strategically stored at various local ponds, plus detailed directions on the locations of the trailheads that connect Pierce Pond to those water bodies. This particular pond is accessible to the public from inland, although I have not attempted to reach it via the old logging roads shown on map 30 A2.
The gate on Overset Pond Lane is closed. I have to haul in all my equipment using my canoe wheels.
Overset Pond covers 18 acres and is located in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 C4). To reach this location, drive north on Route 219 (Greenwood Road) into Greenwood. Turn left on Patch Mountain Road and drive down this road for 0.5 miles. Then, turn right on Willis Mills Road and after 0.1 mile, turn right again on Overset Pond Lane. Note that the latter goes through privately-owned woodlands. The landowners allow public access via permissive trespass. However, they also installed a sturdy gate that is locked during mud season to prevent vehicles from destroying Overset Pond Lane. The sign says that the gate will be open on May 23. To reach the pond when the gate is locked (as it is for me today), leave your vehicle at the small parking lot by the gate and walk for about ¾ of a mile. Be aware that Overset Pond Lane is deceptively steep! It took me 30 minutes of serious huffing and puffing to pull up all my gear on my canoe wheels, but only 20 minutes to return back to the gate at the end of my trip. At some point, the lane bifurcates. Look for a small brown sign by the tree line on the left just passed the fork that says “Overset”. That’s the start of the 2.2 mile Overset Pond hiking trail which loops around the pond. It takes about 8 to 10 minutes to reach the access point from here (hang a left at the bifurcation on the trail at the southern tip of the pond). Note that this trail is too rough to accommodate canoe wheels. Hence, everything has to be carried in by hand from the road to the access point. I do have a sneaky, but unproven, suspicion that the gravel road to the left of the bifurcation may in fact extend to the access point which also has a campsite and a fire ring.
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