Kalers Pond covers 87 acres and is located in Waldoboro, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13 E4). Drive east on Route 1 and turn left on Kalers Pond Road by the Dow Furniture store (look for the green store sign next to Route 1) about 1.5 miles before downtown Waldoboro. Note that Kalers Pond Road is privately owned, although it is not posted as such. Access to the pond is via permissive trespass over this road. I notice several hand-made signs pointing anglers in the direction of the access point. The road is unplowed past the last sign, which also requests that anglers park their vehicles at a plowed parking area across from the furniture store by Route 1. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk from the parking area by the store to the last sign, and another 2 minutes from this sign to the pond. I urge everyone to respect the wishes of the local property owners and follow the rules in order to keep access to this pond open and available to the general public far into the future.
Parking is by Route 1 on the plowed area across from the Dow Furniture store
Kalers Pond came to my attention recently as an outstanding brown trout fishery in mid-coast Maine. This pond has supported brown trout since at least the 1940’s and is known to have produced hogs up to 8+ pounds! The state stocked it last fall with 100 12” brown trout, fifteen 22” (!) brown trout, and 300 13” brook trout. That stocking effort yields a respectable 5 trout per acre. Brown trout are notoriously skittish and difficult to catch through the ice. The brook trout are stocked to provide more consistent action and make this destination more attractive to the hard-water crowd, including the youngens. The pond is lightly developed, with only about half a dozen houses sprinkled along the southern tip. The rest of the shoreline is undeveloped and fully wooded, providing a genuine “remote” feeling. This body of water has a maximum and mean depth of 15 ft and 9 ft, respectively, and is therefore relatively shallow for its size. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. The ice fishing rules for this body of water fall under the general fishing laws.
A pretty view of Kalers Pond from the access point. I had the place all to myself this morning.
I walk on the ice at Kalers Pond at 8:30 am, fully one hour behind schedule because I entered the wrong information in my GPS… It’s a nippy 1°F but the air is calm, keeping the wind chill at bay. The ice is a solid 8” and is covered by 4” to 6” of powdery snow. I set up shop along the eastern shoreline in order to remain in the “shadow line” of the rising sun for as long as possible. I drill four holes in water ranging from 3 to 10 ft deep and deploy my tip-ups baited with 2” shiners. I also drill another dozen jigging holes all around the area. It’s a lot of work but I’m done by 9:15 am. My first flag pops up in my second-deepest trap a short while later. It yields a 16” pickerel, which is not what I’m interested in. A second flag goes up in my deepest trap a little while later but results only in a stolen baitfish. I quickly lower my creature jig down the hole and get an immediate hook-up. OMG, my jigging rod is bent over backwards by an angry brute down below. And then the hook pops out of its jaw and my line goes slack. CRAP, I missed a huge one and I don’t know what it is!!
I caught this one skinny brook trout this morning, but also lost a monster pickerel!
I rebait the trap and start probing the various jigging holes. I catch and land a feisty 14” brookie out of one of those holes and a second small (18”) pickerel in another. Great, I’m not going home skunked, which is a relief. Then the flag goes up again in that deepest trap. This time, the spool is slowly turning when I reach the hole. I release some line, wait for the fish to remove the slack, and set the hook. OMG, I’ve caught something huge again!! The fish takes several strong runs and I see a dark shadow zipping by the hole several times during the fight. It looks like I caught a monster brown. And then the head of a HUGE pickerel pops up through the hole… In all the excitement, I lose control of my numb fingers and half-frozen reel; the line snaps and the big one gets away. CRAP again! It’s not the first time that I’ve been fooled by big pickerel before (click here and here for examples). I walk off the ice at 11:30 am, satisfied with my morning but disappointed to have missed several big fish. I talk to a local home owner on the way out. He’s lived on this pond for 70+years and confirms that Kalers Pond contains a robust pickerel population and some huge browns. He also shares several deep secrets on where, when, and how to target these big fish on this body of water. Stay tuned because I’ll return here in the future!
The results: I caught one brook trout (14”) and two pickerel in three hours of cold but exciting ice 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.
~ ~ ~ ~ ><« ({(« º >
