This blog identifies the TOP 2 ponds in Androscoggin County, Maine that provide the best odds of catching brook trout during the spring of 2015. A pond is considered TOP due to its trout stocking density: after all, everything else being equal, the more brook trout that are stocked per acre of pond, the greater the chances of catching those fish! Trout activity typically peaks between late April and early June, after which the fishing slows down in response to rising surface water temperatures.
Trickey Pond is a 311-acre body of water located in Naples, Cumberland County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). Access is via the public boat launch located at the southern tip of the lake off Route 114 (Sebago Road). Beware that this access road is unplowed in the winter, and steep. As described here, the pond offers a cornucopia of sport fish species to be caught through the ice, including landlocked salmon, splake, brook trout, and smallmouth bass. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This blog identifies the pond as the go-to location in southern Maine for catching splake during the 2015 ice fishing season. That is our target species for today. Splake is a trout hybrid created by crossing a female lake trout with a male brook trout. The main advantage is that these fish are sterile. Hence, the metabolic energy that would be spent reproducing is channeled into growing fast and fat!
Stanley Pond is a three-lobed, 137-acre body of water located in Hiram, Oxford County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 C2). Public access is via the municipal boat launch located on the lower lobe by the outlet on Tripptown Road (off Route 160). I choose to fish this pond today for two reasons: (a) the blizzard from 4 days ago dumped over 2 ft of drifting snow which greatly limits how far I care to walk in knee-deep snow, and (b) Stanley Pond is a top 2015 winter destination for catching rainbow trout through the ice (click here for details). My son Joel and I ice fished this pond in March 2013 but ended up skunked. However, at that time, Joel obtained good intel from two guys who were catching rainbows nearby us (click here for details). We are now going to put that information to good use. Those two guys were fishing the point of land to the right (looking upgradient) of the outlet area. It is a sweet spot because it is real close to the boat launch, has current associated with the outlet, and has an interesting depth profile close to shore. Also, this area faces west, which means that it stays in the shadow of the rising sun to the east, at least for part of the morning.
Joel jigging for trout in deeper water, with the peninsula in the background
Round Pond is a 161-acre body of water located in Livermore, Androscoggin County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 A5). Public access is via the boat launch off Route 4. I chose this pond based on information provided in this blog: Round Pond is a top 2015 ice fishing destination in Androscoggin County because it was richly stocked with 1-pound brook trout and brown trout in the fall of 2014. This pond also has healthy populations of smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and northern pike. I have not ice fished it before, so my first task is to identify a promising area to target trout. The ideal location sticks out on a depth map (click here) like a sore thumb: it consists of a rocky peninsula which juts out into the water right across from the boat launch. I study this feature on-line using Google Maps: the satellite photo shows that the point is strewn with large submerged boulders, which provide excellent trout habitat. The depth map also shows deeper water right off the point, which is a plus. This choice spot will be our base of operation this morning, assuming that no one else claims it first! My only reservation is that it faces due east in the direction of the rising sun. A check of the Weather Channel website on-line shows that the sky will be overcast because of an approaching snow storm. Excellent!
Lots of fishing activity on Dutton Pond to my right
I’m visiting Dutton Pond today, hoping to repeat the tremendous fishing I experienced there during the last ice fishing season (click here for details, and to obtain directions and a depth map). As in previous years, the state has nicely stocked this 36-acre body of water with 1-pound and 3-pound brook trout in the fall of 2014, making it an attractive early-season target (click here and here for more details). I get up really early and drive 105 miles (!) one-way to get to this sweet spot. I arrive at 8:15 am, about 30 minutes behind schedule, and am surprised to see around 10 cars and trucks parked alongside Dutton Pond Road. I won’t be fishing alone today…
This blog describes a select group of ponds in Maine that provide the best potential for catching splake through the ice during the winter of 2015. A splake is a “hybrid” fish created by crossing a lake trout with a brook trout. It has the advantage of being sterile, growing fast, and feeding on forage fish shunned by brook trout. Splake are also easier to catch through the ice than rainbow or brown trout. Around 55 ponds in Maine are managed as splake fisheries. Many of these ponds are open to ice fishing and are stocked with this species each spring and/or fall.
This blog describes a select group of ponds in Maine that provide the best potential for catching rainbow trout through the ice during the winter of 2015. Around 20 ponds, most of them located in southern Maine counties, are managed as rainbow trout fisheries. Many of these ponds are open to ice fishing and are stocked with bows each spring and/or fall.
This blog describes a select group of ponds in Maine that provide the best potential for catching brown trout through the ice during the winter of 2015. Around 110 ponds throughout the state are managed as brown trout fisheries. Most of these ponds are open to ice fishing and are stocked with brown trout each spring and/or fall.
I only present ponds that were stocked in 2014 with a minimum of 1 brown trout per acre. As a rough yardstick, the average stocking density for landlocked salmon in Maine ponds and lakes is about 0.3 to 0.5 salmon per acre, which equals 1 salmon every two to three acres.
This blog highlights the ponds in York County where fishermen have the best odds of catching larger stocked trout during the 2015 ice fishing season. About a dozen and a half ponds open to ice fishing were stocked with trout in the fall of 2014 in this county. Most of these fish are relatively small (7” to 12”), but plentiful, in order to provide fast action. The state also spiced up some of the ponds with larger trout, which are defined here as fish measuring 13” or more, and weighing at least 1 pound.
This blog highlights the ponds in Washington County where fishermen have the best odds of catching larger stocked trout during the 2015 ice fishing season. About a dozen and a half ponds open to ice fishing were stocked with trout in the fall of 2014 in this county. Most of these fish are relatively small (7” to 12”), but plentiful, in order to provide fast action. The state also spiced up some of the ponds with larger trout, which are defined here as fish measuring 13” or more, and weighing at least 1 pound.
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