The public access point next to Route 182 consists of an unimproved sandy boat launch.
Fox Pond is a 77-acre body of water located in T10 SD, Hancock County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 24 D5). Its northern shoreline abuts Route 182 (Black Woods Road). The pond is just to the northwest of Tunk Lake. The public access consists of an unimproved dirt launch next to Route 182 at the northeastern tip of the pond. The launch can accommodate small, trailered boats. A few vehicles can be parked by the launch.
Big smile but tiny fish…
Fox Pond is a lightly developed body of water, with only a single house visible along the shoreline. The surrounding area is totally forested. The State stocked this water body in the spring of 2023 with 200 9-inch brook trout, followed last fall with 1,200 7-inch brookies and 125 12-inch brown trout. This stocking density yields about 20 (small) fish per acre. The general fishing laws for the South Zone apply, except that the pond is a) closed to ice fishing, b) closed to all fishing between December 1 to March 31, but c) remains open to fishing between October 1 and October 30 using artificial lures only and with the stipulation that all trout must be released at once. The pond is relatively shallow, with a mean and maximum depth of 13 ft. and 29 ft. respectively. The deepest part is found right by the launch in a small bowl-shaped area. Click here for a depth map and additional (dated) fisheries information. The presence of brown trout in the stocking mix indicates that this species can survive year-over-year, and that the bowl provides a cold-water refuge. Based on data I reviewed, the pond develops a thermocline in this bowl in the summer at a depth of 16 to 18 ft., with a severe dissolved oxygen deficiency further down. Hence, that is the depth range where both the temperature and the dissolved oxygen levels are suitable for the trout to survive during the hot months!
Unfortunately, the weather does not lend itself to dry flying, as we had originally planned…
My buddy Travis and I arrive at Fox Pond at 10 am. It takes us 20 minutes to fully gear up and put the boat in the water. We discuss what to expect and agree that we will most likely catch small brookies… The weather is gloomy, with a low cloud deck and a persistent breeze blowing from the southwest. The air temperature is in the low 60’s. Unfortunately, the prevailing conditions preclude us from dry flying, which is what we had hoped for this morning. Instead, we settle on trolling, I with lead core line and three Mickey Fin-type streamer flies tied back-to-back and Travis using a floating fly fishing line and one small streamer fly weighed down by a couple of split shots. The water, which is tea colored, has a temperature of 67°F, which is still fine for trout fishing near the surface. We focus our trolling efforts along the shoreline in water 6 to 12 ft. deep. The first tour of the pond is less than optimal because we run into submerged aquatic vegetation that has started to grow towards the water surface. We do get three hits – and I land a small brookie – along the way, which indicates that we are on the right track. But we should be doing much better considering that all the fish stocked last fall are still there (no ice fishing, remember?).
We are underwhelmed, but not surprised, by the size of the trout.
I swap out the streamer flies for two small 1.5-inch ACME Thunderbolt spoons that have worked well for me in the past (click here and here for examples). I get a hit along one of the shorelines in water 14 ft. deep and with the lures placed one and a half colors down (about 8 ft. below the surface). I turn the boat around, retroll the same area, and get another hit. Darn! I turn again, get third hit, but this time set the hook properly and land a second small brookie. By now we have been fishing for 2.5 hours and it is time to move on. We troll back towards the launch and decide to circle the bowl a few times before leaving. I let go of two full colors (about 12 ft below the surface), get a hit and hook a more substantial fish on one of the spoons. But the trout wriggles so much next to the boat that it unhooks before I have a chance to net it. Damn! Overall, the fishing this morning was hard and the landed trout were small. An important consolation is that I am not skunked whereas Travis did not even get a hookup…
The results: I landed 2 brookies (largest = 11 inches) whereas Travis was skunked.
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Tight Lines, y’all.
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