Category Archives: Open Water Fishing

Fishing for brook trout on Dodge Pond in Rangeley, Franklin County, Maine (September 14, 2024)

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The unimproved public access point to Dodge Pond can accommodate small trailed boats.

 

This blog continues my exploration of the trout fishing opportunities in the Rangeley region. Click here, here, here, here, here, and here for other reports from this general area. Dodge Pond is a 230-acre body of water located in Rangeley, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 28 E4). The public access point consists of an unimproved boat launch located at the southern tip of the pond by the outlet on Route 4/16. The gravel ramp can accommodate small, trailered boats. Parking is rather limited at the launch itself, but several more parking spots are available along an expanded shoulder on the other side of the bridge over the outlet.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on North Pond in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (September 7, 2024)

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Accessing North Pond by motor boat requires navigating through two large culverts. This one passes underneath Johnny’s Bridge Road.

 

North Pond is a 284-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B4). This pond does not have a public launch area and access to it is tricky. For the record, hand-carried craft can be launched directly into North Pond from a small picnic area on Route 26 next to the pond. However, the ramp for trailered boats, called the Mike Giunta memorial boat launch, is found by Howe Hill Road off Route 26 (Main Street). I had to look for it because it was not clearly indicated either on Route 26 or Howe Hill Road. The hard-topped ramp is narrow, quite steep, and next to deep water. Plenty of parking is available. I found it challenging to retrieve my boat at the end of the trip because I had to place the trailer mostly out of the deep water and on the steep launch. It took a lot of arm juice to manually crank the boat up unto the trailer… Access to North Pond from this location occurs through two separate road culverts. With the ramp in your back, navigate to the upper left-hand corner of the (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Route 26. From there, navigate to the upper right-hand corner of that second (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Johnny’s Bridges Road to reach North Pond. It takes about 15 minutes of no-wake boating to reach your destination from the boat ramp.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on Sand Pond in Denmark, Oxford County, Maine (September 4, 2024

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The boat launch by the outlet of Hancock Pond is wide and spacious. Remember to leave your vehicle at the parking area across the road behind the mailboxes.

 

Sand Pond is a 256-acre body of water located in Denmark, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B3. NOTE: both the Gazetteer and Google Maps refer to it as Walden Pond). This pond does not have a public launch area. Instead, access is via the hard-topped municipal boat launch found at the outlet of nearby Hancock Pond. Both ponds are connected via a short but shallow (< 1 ft. deep) thoroughfare. Keep in mind that the Hancock Pond launch is not deep and that trailered boats need to be backed out a way before they will float off. Also, a local homeowner tells me that vehicles should not be left behind in the launch area itself but instead must be parked in the open area across Wabunaki Road behind the mailboxes. The launch area does not provide any signs clarifying that important detail. Beware that, in the past, some vehicles parked at the launch have been towed away by the town at the owner’s expense…

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Bryant Pond in Woodstock, Oxford County, Maine (August 16, 2024)

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The boat launch by the outlet is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking.

 

Bryant Pond (a.k.a. Christopher Pond) is a 278-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). To access this pond, drive on Route 26 and turn off on Old County Road. Drive for about 1 mile before turning left on Rowe Hill Road. The public access point will be immediately to your right and is clearly marked with a blue sign. It is located in a small municipal park next to the pond’s outlet. The boat launch is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking area.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, Androscoggin County, Maine (August 5, 2024)

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Greg’s very first fish ever! He won’t forget this moment anytime soon.

 

Greg, my 11-year-old great nephew, is visiting us from far, far away. He is a city kid who has never held a rod in his hands before. He has asked me five times over the last two days if I can go fishing with him… Where should one bring a child who has no clue how to cast a lure, has a 5-minute attention span, and absolutely needs to feel a scaly creature on the other end of the line? One of those winning spots is the Androscoggin River below the hydroelectric dam in Lisbon Falls. I have visited that location in summers’ past to catch smallmouth bass and did well (see here and here for examples). The public access is found about 1 mile south of downtown Lisbon Falls on Route 196 (Lewiston Road) and is called the Pejepscot boat ramp (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 6 B2). This hard-topped launch is spacious and offers unlimited parking.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on Stearns Pond in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (August 2, 2024)

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The boat launch is unimproved but wide and provides lots of parking space.

 

Stearns Pond is a 255-acre body of water located in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 E3). To access this pond, turn off Route 93 (Waterford Road) unto Hardscrabble Road. Drive for about 1 mile and turn left on Wint Road. Then drive for <0.2 miles before turning left on Town Landing Road. The unimproved boat launch is located at the end of this short gravel road. Plenty of parking is available next to the launch.

 

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Warren Pond in South Berwick, York County, Maine (July 27, 2024)

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The access point is unimproved. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from this location.

 

Warren Pond is a 45-acre body of water located in South Berwick, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 1 A4). To access this pond, drive down Belle Marsh Road and look for the wooden bridge over Hoopers Brook. Next to that bridge, turn on Warren Pond Road which is posted as “private”. Proceed down this gravel road for 0.3 miles until it becomes an undrivable and bouldery forest trail. You will notice a discrete green sign stating that access to the pond is allowed via permissive trespass over private land. Park your vehicle on the side. The pond is a three-minute walk down the trail. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from the unimproved access point. All anglers should deeply respect these tentative arrangements over private land to ensure future access to this pond.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin River in Durham, Androscoggin County, Maine (July 22, 2024)

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Shawn is the first one to catch bass this morning.

 

Shawn, an angler friend from away, would like to experience the awesome smallmouth bass fishing on the Androscoggin River. I decide to check out the conditions on the river in Durham where I have fished for bronzebacks in summers’ past and did well (see here and here for examples). The hard-top boat launch next to Route 136 (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A5) is spacious and offers unlimited parking.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River in Fairfield, Kennebec County, Maine (July 4, 2024)

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Follow this sign on Main Street to reach the boat launch.

 

My target today is the stretch of the Kennebec River flowing through Fairfield in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 76 A3). This location is new to me, so I do not know what to expect. I “flew” over the area using Google Maps in preparation for this trip. The section below the boat launch seems to consist largely of a reservoir created by the dam located two miles further downstream. My initial interest is to fish below that dam because such a location typically provide good bass-holding habitat (click here, here, and here for examples) but neither the Gazetteer nor Google Maps show a way to put a boat in at or near that spot. Instead, viewed from above on Google Maps, I find what looks like promising fishing grounds between the Bridge Street bridge just above the Fairfield boat launch and the railroad bridge about a quarter mile further upstream. Access to this portion of the river is via a large hard-top boat launch located off Mill Street/Water Street in downtown Fairfield, across from the police station. The launch is part of a municipal park. It offers dozens of parking spaces, but  – for some strange reason – not for vehicles with trailers (fundamental design flow!).

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass (and catfish?!) on the Kennebec River in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (June 29, 2024)

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The hard-top launch is narrow but plenty of parking area is available. The deeper channel is located along the opposite shoreline.

 

My focus this afternoon is on a small section of the Kennebec River that flows below the confluence with the Sebasticook River in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 76 D1). Access is via a hard-topped boat launch located on Water Street. To reach this location, drive down Water Street (which is a dead-end road) and look for the municipal baseball diamond. The entrance is right passed this field on the left. The launch is narrow but plenty of parking area is available.

 

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