A splendid view of Levenseller Pond from the access point by Route 173
Levenseller Pond is a pretty 35-acre body of water located in the town of Lincolnville in Waldo County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 14 C3). The public access to this pond is right next to Route 173 (Lincolnville Avenue). Only hand-carried craft can be launched from this location. Plenty of parking is available along the road shoulder.
Levenseller Pond shows moderate development, with over a dozen houses and camps visible along the southern shore. Route 173 runs along the entire eastern shore. The surrounding landscape is deeply forested, with Levenseller Mountain looming in the background. This body of water is stocked each fall with brook trout in anticipation of the ice-fishing season (click here and here), even though none of these fish will make it into next fall because the surface water in this shallow pond becomes too warm in the summer to allow year-over-year survival. This body of water has a mean and maximum depth of 6 ft., and 10 ft., respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. The state released 400 8-inch brookies (12 fish per acre) and 350 14-inch brookies (10 fish per acre) on November 10, 2021. That represents a very favorable stocking density of 22 fish per acre! It’s the latter one-pounders that are calling me in this afternoon because they are so much fun to catch on an ultralight spinning rod and are also gorgeous to contemplate in their brilliant spawning colors! This pond is open to fishing in the fall under the general fishing laws. Keep in mind that motorboats are prohibited on this water.
This pond is made for wader fishing: flat sandy substrate, gradually sloping depth, and no submerged aquatic vegetation!
I arrive at the public access point located at the northern end of Levenseller Pond by 1 pm. Access to the water is down a short gravelly slope. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from this location The weather conditions are absolutely glorious today: no wind, unlimited sunshine, bright blue skies, and an air temperature well into the 50’s. That’s real gold in mid-November in Maine! I don my waders and enter the water ten minutes later armed with my trusted ultralight fishing rod and a #2 Mepps spinner. I immediately notice that, unlike most of the other places I’ve waded during past fall trout fishing adventures, the substrate over here is absolutely perfect: it consists of fine sand overlain by one or two inches of soft muck. It also lacks any obstructions, such as boulders or submerged trees. In addition, the depth gain is very gradual and submerged vegetation is lacking altogether. Wading doesn’t get any better than this! I walk out into the water up to my knees, start casting out my lure, and land a 14″ brook trout on my fourth cast! OMG, I think I found the school of fish stocked three days earlier and they’re sitting right in front of the access point! I pound that entire area hard for another 20 minutes and… don’t get a single additional bite. Sh*t, that’s not good.
I catch this brookie 5 minutes into my fishing trip and spend the next two hours fruitlessly chasing its siblings…
I slowly wade 300 ft to the left while constantly tossing out the spinner all around me but don’t get one hit. I wade back to my starting point fishing all the while, and have nothing to show for it. I wade and fish for about 300 ft. to the right of the access point and don’t elicit any interest from the trout below. What is going on here? I’ve been at it for well over one hour now and only have that one brookie to show for all my efforts. I’m not satisfied with the results and I decide that I need to up my game. I get out of the water, eliminate the waders, and launch my canoe which always comes with me to deal with just such a contingency. I troll around Levelseller Pond twice using a small bronze-colored Acme Phoebe spoon weighed down by a couple of split shots. I don’t get a single hit over the next 45 minutes. I hate to admit it, but the trout got the better of me today. That one fish at the start was the only hit I experienced in two hours of non-stop fishing. It goes to show that we can try to stack the odds in our favor, but that the fish ultimately decide if they’ll fall for our lures . Regardless, I highly recommend this pond for fall wader fishing because of its outstanding bottom structure, lack of obstruction and aquatic vegetation, and well-stocked trout population.
The results: I caught one brook trout in 2 hours of frustrating fishing.
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.
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I live fairly close to this body of water. Years ago, I used to fish from shore often and sometimes caught some monster-sized bass. After a few years of great bass fishing from the shore, it seemed to taper off and I didn’t catch any. Early on when I was just starting to fly fish, I liked to wade into the same area you mentioned with my neoprene hip waders and try or bass. I didn’t do well, but do remember one time being startled by a loon swimming between my legs. Even though you only caught one trout, I’m always happy with even one trout and am inspired to give it a try there.
It’s a nice pond for ice fishing and tends to freeze up early, but the last couple times I tried to go there, cars were lined up almost bumper to bumper and there didn’t seem to be any free space at all on the ice. I think because it freezes early, everyone else had the same idea and were eager to get in some early ice fishing. I didn’t even try to fish there those days.