Category Archives: Ponds and Lakes

Ice fishing for smallmouth bass on Panther Pond in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (March 18, 2021)

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The lake is accessed via permissive trespass through this open gate.

 

Panther Pond is a 1,439-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). Access to the main basin of the lake during the ice-fishing season is via permissive trespass through a small private beach associated with Slovenski Camp. To gain access via this entry point, drive north on Route 121 (Meadow Road) towards the town of Casco  and turn right on David Plummer Road (look for the discrete Slovenski Camp sign). Drive down that road for about 600 ft. Beware that this road may be slippery in the winter. The open gate to the beach will be on your left. Drive up further for another 50-100 ft. and park your car in the available open space.

 

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Thompson’s Ice Pond in South Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine (February 28, 2021)

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The boys are having a good time horsing around on the glare ice!

 

Thompson’s Ice Pond is a miniscule 1-acre body of water located in the town of South Bristol, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 C3, but the pond is not shown due to its small size). The pond is situated at the intersection of Route 129, which runs between Damariscotta and South Bristol, and McFarlands Cove Road. I recommend searching Google Maps for “Thompson’s Ice House, South Bristol, Maine” to see its actual location. Note that a depth map is not available. Thompson’s Ice Pond is a small shallow reservoir associated with the Thompson Ice House Harvesting Museum, which is on the National Registry of Historic Places. Plenty of parking space is available next to the pond. Why bother with such a small potato? A review of the 2020 fish stocking report issued by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shows that this tiny pond received 250 8” brookies and 50 13” brookies last fall. Do the math. That works out to an astonishing 300 brook trout per acre! Beware that between October 1 and May 31, the pond is reserved exclusively for kids under 16 years old using only two lines per person (click here for more details).

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4, Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (January 23, 2021)

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The Otter Ponds are a highly-popular early season ice fishing destination. Do not be the last one in!

 

Otter Pond #4 is a small 6-acre body of water located in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this fishing hole. My original target for this morning was actually Parker Pond in Lyman, York County. I got out of bed at an ungodly hour in order to start fishing 30 minutes before sunrise. When I stepped on the ice, I was astounded to discover that it was only 0.5″ thick! It was clear that much of Parker Pond had thawed recently in response to the warm weather and rain of last week. That is insane considering that we are deep in January and should be walking on up to one foot of ice at this point in the season… So, instead, I drive to Otter Pond #4 which has a much smaller surface area and is more likely to have safe ice.

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Knights Pond, South Berwick, York County, Maine (January 10, 2021)

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Vehicles can be parked on both shoulders of Knights Pond Road. I estimated that about 60 people were fishing when I left this morning!

 

Knights Pond is a pretty 49-acre body of water located in South Berwick, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 E3). The pond is next to Knights Pond Road and the public access point is via an old railroad grade that runs along its eastern shore. Lots of parking space is available on both shoulders of the road in the vicinity of the public access. Although I do not know what the parking situation would be after a big snowstorm when the road plows are done with their work.

 

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (January 3, 2021)

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The place is buzzing with activity this morning!

 

Chaffin Pond is an 13-acre body of water located in downtown Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). The pond is embedded in the Donnabeth Lipman Park, right next to the Sherwin Williams paint store off Route 302 in the business district. Click here for directions. Plenty of parking is available.

 

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Fishing for brook trout and rainbow trout on Knickerbocker Lake in Boothbay, Lincoln County, Maine (November 29, 2020)

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View of Knickerbocker Lake looking to the right from the unimproved boat launch

 

 

Knickerbocker Lake is an 86-acre body of water located in Boothbay, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 C2). The public access point is located at the end of a dirt road called Access Road off Barters Island Road (just passed the Evergreen Cemetery) about a mile west of the Route 27 traffic circle in downtown Boothbay. A sign announcing “Knickerbocker Lake” used to hang at that turn-off but was missing when I visited. Drive down Access Road for about a quarter mile until you reach a small parking area. The lake is visible through the trees.

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Fishing for brook trout on Sewell Pond in Arrowsic, Sagadahoc County, Maine (November 27, 2020)

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Sewell Pond (also spelled “Sewall Pond”) is a 43-acre body of water located in the town of Arrowsic in Sagadahoc County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 6 C5). The public access point to the pond is located right next to Route 127. Parking is along the shoulder of the road or by a small dirt pull-up right by the access point.

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Fishing for brook trout on Pinkham Pond in Alna, Lincoln County, Maine (November 27, 2020)

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Early-morning view of pretty Pinkham Pond from Bog Road.

 

Pinkham Pond is a 21-acre body of water located in Alna, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13 E1). The public access to the pond is located at its southern tip, right besides Bog Road. Parking is along the shoulder of the road. It would be best not to leave your vehicle at the nearby fire truck water intake as that might potentially result in a ticket or a tow.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Upper Hinkley Pond in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine (November 21, 2020)

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General view of Upper Hinkley Pond. The retaining wall and the dam are all the way in the background. We fished the shoreline shown on the right-hand side in this picture.

 

Upper Hinkley Pond is a small, 3-acre shallow reservoir formed by the impoundment of Kimball Brook. It is found in Hinkley Park off Highland Avenue in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 3 A4 or map 73 G4).  This beautiful little pond is located only 10 minutes from downtown Portland! The park offers ample parking. Keep in mind that Hinkley Park is a popular area for local people to walk their dogs and that some of their canines may pay you a visit. Beware also that the first pond you encounter when entering the park is Lower Hinkley Pond. This body of water is set aside for “kids only” fishing and therefore cannot be fished by anglers over 16 years old. Just walk uphill for a couple of minutes and the upper pond will soon emerge.

 

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Fall wader fishing for trout in southern and central Maine

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My blog readers know that fishing can be turned into a non-stop four-season activity in Maine, with ice fishing in the winter, trolling or fly fishing for salmonids in the spring, bass fishing on lakes and rivers in the summer, and trolling for salmonids in the fall. However, the kind of open-water fishing described above requires specific equipment, such as a canoe or motor boat, electronics, downriggers, lead core line, and the like. That can quickly become overwhelming and expensive.

 

 

Some of you asked if I could highlight places in southern and central Maine where one could fish for trout in the fall but without the need for expensive gear. I therefore decided to research and write this blog for you. The only piece of “fancy” equipment required is a pair of waders, available on-line or at your local sports equipment store. Also needed is the drive required to get out of bed at the crack of dawn to spend time immersed in ice-cold water under freezing-cold conditions to pursue a true passion 🙂

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