The first brookie of the morning is a beauty.

Bartlett Pond is a 26-acre body of water located in Livermore, Androscoggin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 B5). Access to this pond is by the outlet right next to Norlands Road via an unimproved dirt boat ramp that can accommodate small, trailered boats. Limited parking is available along the road shoulder.

The spawning colors of male brook trout never disappoint.

Bartlett Pond is largely undeveloped and surrounded by woods. If it wasn’t for lightly-traveled Norlands Road, one would think that this pretty pond is located in a more remote corner of Maine. The state stocked it earlier this fall with 500 8-inch brookies (19 fish/acre) and 300 14-inch brookies (12 fish/acre!). I am keenly interested in the latter group because of their highly-favorable stocking density and nice size (about one pound per fish). Besides, the male brook trout are resplendent in their fall spawning colors this time a year and are a real pleasure to contemplate! This popular spot is open to angling year round under the general fishing laws applicable to the South Zone. The pond has an average and maximum depth of 12 ft. and 26 ft., respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.

A medley of colors. My hands are freezing at this point…

I arrive at the access point of Bartlett Pond at 6:45 am and enter the water 10 minutes later in my waders. I am dressed in multiple layers to stay warm. The air temperature is nippy this morning (27°F) but at least the wind is calm. I only have one and a half hour of fishing time before I need to head back home to start my workday. I start wading to the right of the launch just in front of the cattails. The substrate is rather soft (always the case with cattails; that is where they like to grow!) and I have to be careful not to wander off too deep. I use my favorite fall trout fishing gear: an ultra-light rod, a small reel spooled with 6 pound test line, and a #2 Mepps spinner. I modify the spinner by cutting off one of the three hooks and flattening the barb on one of the two remaining hooks to minimize damage to the fish. I cast out the lure, let it sink towards the bottom, start the retrieve, and constantly twitch the tip of the rod to cause the blade to quiver erratically in an attempt to trigger the killer instinct of the fish below. I get my first hookup 15 minutes later as daylight increases with the emerging sun. It is a female full of eggs. She gets photographed and quickly released. The action is slow but steady over the next 30 minutes, yielding another three large trout. This is so much fun, except that my hands are frozen by now, as well as several of the guides on my rod. I return to my truck for 10 minutes to thaw out fingers and equipment.

More fall colors.

After my hands regain feeling again, I re-enter the water and fan-cast my spinner from left to right. The trout are still down there and the bite is steady. In fact, the activity seems to increase as the sun continues to rise. It’s a little after 8 am now and the bite has become non-stop: every cast generates a hit and every second cast results in a hook-up or a landed fish. This is angling at its absolute best! The activity remains unrelenting but I sadly have to break off and return back home. Boy, I hate to leave now, but I have no choice. I caught ten one-pound trout (and none of the smaller ones) in about 1.5 hours. I leave a happy angler.

Fall brook trout fishing can be very rewarding if one is willing to put in the effort!

The results: I caught 10 brook trout (largest = 15 inches) in 1.5 hours of great fishing.

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