You’ve driven about 1000 ft too far if you reach this gate.
Upper East Richardson Pond is a remote 85-acre body of water located off Route 16 in the “Upper Richardson – Maine Public Reserved Land Unit” of Adamstown Township in northern Oxford County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 28 E2). To access this pond from Route 16, drive north in the direction of Rangeley, turn right on Upper Dam Road located across from West Richardson Pond, stay on that dirt road for 0.8 miles, turn left on an unmarked dirt road (no need for a 4X4 vehicle) and drive for about a mile or so up to a gate on your left. The trail behind that gate leads to a cabin on the shore of the pond which appears to be used by a local rod and gun club. I do not see any no trespassing signs at the gate, but a kind person at the cabin informs me that the “public” access point is actually located down a short unmarked trail off the road about 1,000 ft before the gate (diagonally across from a small open clearing). The rough footpath from the road to the shore is less than 500 ft long.
View of the pond from the access point. I’m using my inflatable one-person boat for the occasion.
Upper East Richardson Pond is a little gem sandwiched between Aziscohos Lake to the west, Mooselookmeguntic Lake to the east, and Upper Richardson Lake to the south. It is completely undeveloped, except for the one camp mentioned earlier. And because it is late September in western Maine, the leaf colors are peaking and the surrounding woods and hills are ablaze in multiple shades of reds, yellows, and oranges. What a glorious treat to the eye and the soul! The pond water is clear and the shoreline consists of large boulder fields. The surface water temperature feels distinctively cooler (lower 60’s), in keeping with the shorter days and colder nights of early fall. The state specifically manages this pond for brook trout. The fishery is enhanced with a generous annual fall stocking of brookies to keep the action going. The general fishing laws applicable to the North Zone are in force but only fly-fishing is allowed (i.e., no live or dead bait, no artificial lures, no trolling). The pond stays open to fly fishing between October 1 and November 30, but is closed to ice fishing. Click here for the full rules. The maximum depth is 20 feet, with a mean depth of 11 feet, which makes the pond rather shallow. Click here for a depth map and additional fisheries information.
It took a lot of looking around to finally catch this first little brookie!
I arrive at the public access point by 10:30 am and push off in my Sea Eagle inflatable raft at 11 am. The place is all mine, just the way I like it. The sun is high up in the sky and a light breeze blows in from the north. The air temperature is a pleasant high 60’s. I have less than three hours to figure out Upper East Richardson Pond before I need to head out in order to meet up with my son at Black Brook Cove Campground which will be our sleeping headquarters for the next four days of fishing in the area. I begin casting a small orange, white, and red Mickey Finn along the shoreline using my 4-weight fly fishing rod and reel spooled with floating line. Thirty minutes later, I have succeeded in hooking nothing but the occasional string of aquatic vegetation. I row along the western shoreline and anchor in about 4 feet of water. I fan-cast the Mickey Fin all around me and finally catch my first brookie of the day. It’s not much of a fish (8”) but it has an adipose fin and therefore counts… An additional hour of fishing using different Mickey Fins and wooly buggers along the western and northern shoreline does not produce a single hit. Boy, things are really slow this afternoon… Unfortunately, I did not bring a sinking line with me so I have to make do with what I have on hand.
That one small cabin is the only human intrusion along the entire shoreline of the pond.
I have now reached the general area in front of the cabin and decide to let the breeze slowly push me back to the opposite shore and its take-out point. It is an act of total desperation since nothing else has worked so far. I am back to casting out a small Mickey Fin and seem to suddenly find my strides: over the next 20 minutes, I catch three (small) brookies right on the surface while drifting and casting over the deepest part of the pond! How odd is that… It goes to show that fish do their own thing and that it is up to us to try different approaches, including the occasional Hail Mary, in order to catch them!
A pretty brook trout against the gorgeous fall colors. The way life should always be!
Overall, I totally enjoyed the setting at Upper East Richardson Pond. My timing (early afternoon) wasn’t the best to catch brook trout but I’m guessing that this pond must have bigger fish that rise up from the deep to feed during dusk. It would definitely be worth checking that out some other time.
The results: I caught 4 small brook trout (largest = 9”) in 2.5 hours of fishing.
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