That
December 24, 2016
Charles Pond is small, undeveloped, pretty, and quite shallow.
Location and Access to Charles Pond
Where is Charles Pond Located?
You can find this 14-acre water body next to Route 127 (Five Islands Road) in Georgetown, Sagadahoc County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 D1). The pond’s outlet flows directly into the Atlantic Ocean over a small dam by Route 127. My goal this morning is fishing on Charles Pond through the ice.
Access
Anglers can leave their vehicles on the shoulder of Five Islands Road and walk straight on the ice. However, keep in mind that that these shoulders may be filled with plowed snow after a big snow storm.
First brookie of the morning
Charles Pond Features, Stocking, Depth Profile, and Angling Rules
General Characteristics
Charles Pond is quite a find! This little gem remains totally undeveloped, which is highly unusual. Its entire shoreline is fully forested. Also, the low level of traffic on Route 127 does not impinge on the general quietness of the place.
Annual Stocking
The State stocked this pond last fall with 200 14-inch brookies and 10 18-inchers. I like the size of those fish!
Depth Profile
A depth map is not available for this pond. I did not find water deeper than about 7 ft., even in the middle of the pond.
Fishing Regulations
Ice fishing at this location occurs under the general fishing laws applicable to the South Zone. Also, the regulations impose no additional hard-water restrictions.
Fishing on Charles Pond Through the Ice
Arrival and Conditions
I get up at an ungodly hour so as to reach this pond before 6:45 am (sunrise this morning occurs at 7:15 am). The aim is to start fishing “at the crack ‘o dawn” to catch the early bite!
I am pulling my sled on the ice by 6:50 am, walk for about 500 ft and set up shop in the general area where Charles Pond becomes quite narrow. I hardly see any fishing holes along the way, which shows that very few people have ventured on this ice recently.
The weather is also excellent for fishing. The temperature is in the mid 30’s and rising, rain is forecast to start at 10 am, and it is wind still. In addition, the arrival of a low-pressure front, always a great plus when ice fishing, creates a low cloud deck which keeps the sun away and the light levels down.
Technique for Fishing on Charles Pond Through the Ice
Come to daddy…
I quickly drill five holes. I am surprised to find that the water is no deeper than 6 ft, even in the middle of the pond. The ice thickness is a respectable 6” for this early in the season. It is also covered with minimal snow which makes walking much easier. I bait two traps with 2” minnows, two traps with night crawlers, and leave the fifth hole open for jigging.
Results of Fishing on Charles Pond through the Ice
The action starts immediately at the two deeper locations. A first flag pops up within 10 minutes and yields a 13” brookie on the minnow. Then, a second flag goes up 10 minutes later and results in a fat 14” brookie, also on the minnow. Wow, I got my daily bag limit of two nice trout 20 minutes into my trip!!
A crazy spurt of activity!
The next 40 minutes are a blur of flags (11 in total), resulting in 8 extra trout, all measuring between 13” and 15”!
Two of those trout are so eager to bite that they are caught as I’m still lowering the bait fish through the hole and futsing with the trap. I’ve had that experience before. One of those two flags actually slaps me painfully across the face when it unexpectedly triggers…I’m blown away by the constant activity.
The trout totally focus on the bait fish and largely ignore my worms. I also observe that the bait fish invariably result in turning spools when they are grabbed by the trout, which is not the case for the traps with the worms.
YES, I caught one of the lunker brook trout “finger jigging”!!
A Magical World Under the Ice
I run out of bait fish by 8 am and look for my jigging rod to continue the fun. SH*T, I left the thing at home!!!! Boy, this sucks given all the on-going action. So, I resolve to “finger jig” by laying flat on the ice with my head looking down the hole. I use the line from one of my traps, bait the hook with a worm, and use my two hands to gently move the baited hook up and down. A magical world opens up as my eyes adjust to the clear but somber waters below.
I see dozens of brookies cruising back and forth, including one of the 10 lunker fish!! I’m gitty with excitement at the sight of all this activity but notice that the trout show little or no interest for my worm. Most fish ignore it altogether, some stare at it before turning around, a few mouth it but immediately spit out the offering, and only two bite the hook and get pulled out of the water.
This approach is clearly not working for me.
I switch to a little orange jig head covered by a small bug-like plastic trailer. Finally, that lures does the trick, and results in seven more trout, including the much anticipated 19”-long brood stock fish!
It’s now 9:15 am and it starts to drizzle. That is OK because I have touched fishing Nirvana this morning, a rare but deeply-satisfying condition. Hence, I leave a happy angler.
Not only did I catch the 1-pounders I was looking for, but I also iced one of the lunker trout. I released it and hope that someone else will catch it in the future.
The outcome of fishing on Charles Pond through the ice: I landed 19 brookies (all measuring between 13” and 15”, with one lunker of 19”) in 2.5 hours of Nirvana-like fishing.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions. Also, feel free to discuss your fishing experiences at this location.