Pierce Pond is a magnificent, remote, 1,650 acre (maximum depth = 185 ft) lake located in the shadow of Pierce Pond Mountain deep in Somerset County in southwestern Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). It consists of three basins (Lower, Middle, and Upper Pond) which are connected to each other by shallow thoroughfares. The surrounding watershed is entirely forested and forever protected from future development. The whole shoreline is rugged and undeveloped, except for Cobb’s Camp where we’re staying for four days. Several unimproved access points are located in the lower and upper basins. The state stocks this lake with juvenile landlocked salmon each spring after ice-out. The adult salmon don’t grow particularly big: a 3-pounder is considered a nice fish, whereas a 4-pounder is exceptional. But they are relatively plentiful and do not shy away from sipping flies or pounding on a spoon. The brook trout are all natives and can also reach 3 to 4 pounds.
Joel, Salvador, and I arrive at Cobb’s Camp on at 12:30 pm for our annual four-day fly fishing pilgrimage. We deposit our stuff at our cabin, set up our fishing gear, take a stiff shot of Jaegermeister + Red Bull to get our engines going, and motor up to Upper Pierce Pond.
We find the water temperature in Upper Pond to be surprisingly warm (65F) for this early in the season. That’s in response to an early ice-out (April 13) and a very warm spring. We also fear, and our fears are confirmed, that the bulk of the mayfly hatching has already passed for this season…
We use our down-riggers to troll with small bronze Mooselooks spoons 10-12 deep. I catch a 12″ and a 14″ landlocked salmon in 4 hours of fishing. We see few flies and no hatches.
We troll and dry fly for another 2 hours in Lower Pierce Pond after diner (7-9 pm) but without any success.
The results: I caught 2 small landlocked salmon in 6 hours of fishing.
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