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Milliken Mills Pond is an impoundment of Mill Brook (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 3 B3) in Old Orchard Beach. Access to the pond is on Milliken Mills Road, right by the dam on Portland Avenue. The launch is rough and can only handle hand-carried craft because a thick cable is stretched across the entrance way and half-a-dozen large granite blocks bar the way further down. The distance between the road and the water is no more than 150 ft. Parking is on the road shoulder and is limited to two or three cars. Even though the pond is small (10 acres), it gives the impression of being much larger because it is quite narrow (< 130 ft), and hence very long (over 0.5 mile!). The pond has little aquatic vegetation but a multitude of overhanging branches and fallen trees. The water is also crystal-clear. This small water body, located no more than 12 miles south of Portland, provides a remarkable feeling of “remoteness”. Both banks are densely wooded and devoid of houses or camps. Further upstream, the heavy canopy on both banks provides a cocoon-like feeling. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.

 

 

 

 

 

I put my canoe in the water by the dam at 6:00 am and paddle about half-way up the pond before I realize that I left my anchor sitting on shore at the launch site… So I turn around to pick up the darned thing. It’s wind-still this morning and the sun, which is facing me, is rapidly warming up the cool morning air. The moisture, which gently rises up from the warm pond water, forms dozens of delicate, 10-ft high mini tornadoes that gently swirl around and around in the sunlight as they rise up in the air… It’s a magic moment and I’m glad to be part of it.

 

I finally begin fishing at 6:30 am. I start with a spinnerbait but quickly switch to a 5″ soft stickbait rigged “Texas-style” in order to get closer to the sunken branches and trees that line the shoreline. Largemouth bass love hiding in this kind of stuff. The habitat is perfect, so I’m surprised that I have only caught three small (10″) bass in over one hour of constant fishing. It is the first time that I fish this pond, though, so I haven’t figured out the honey holes yet…

 

The sun is quite bright at this point so I put on my polarized sunglasses to see into the water column through the glare on the surface. It’s fun to see the stickbait twitch, twirl, and swim as I slowly bring it in. Suddenly, a nice bass swims up from underneath a branch, looks at the bait for a moment, and gulps it in! I have to use all my will power not to set the hook but wait until I feel tension on the line as the fish swims away. Which it does, and the hook get set. The fish jumps out of the water and makes several strong runs. Woow, what a fighter! I let go of the 16 incher and paddle back to the launch. This pond is a keeper.

 

The results: four largemouth bass (largest = 16″) in 1.5 hours of fishing.

 

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