Identifying lakes to catch trout in Maine

What is this Blog About?

One of my angling “specialties” is to explore new places across our great state and consistently catch trout over open water or under the ice.This blog presents on approach for identifying lakes to catch trout in Maine.

I reside in southern Maine. Yet, I will confidently drive for hours to areas north and west that are unknown to me and catch trout in lakes found at the end of dirt roads lost in the woods somewhere.

Through trial and error, I have developed a winning strategy to uncover these places quickly and efficiently. This blog explains that approach and will help you do the same.

 

 

The Major Elements of Identifying Lakes to Catch Trout in Maine

First, Two Critical Shortcuts

But before proceeding, I need to mention two critical shortcuts I prepared in the past. They greatly speed up the task of finding promising fishing locations by identifying lakes to catch trout in Maine.

 

 

A List of Lakes Stocked with Trout

Years ago, I spent a long and rainy weekend preparing an Excel table that included the 600+ ponds and lakes in Maine stocked with trout. I obtained their names from the Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife (MDIFW) stocking reports and organized this information alphabetically by county.

I included the town, whether a water body is open or closed to ice fishing, its surface area, and the map number in the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.

 

 

The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer

I spent another long and rainy weekend hunched over a new Maine Atlas and Gazetteer circling in red each of the stocked ponds and lakes contained in my Excel table. I then circled in blue the 500+ State Heritage Waters (more about them later). This color-coded information allows me to geographically locate 1,100+ trout-supporting water bodies across the state in seconds

In fact, I own two gazetteers: one lives permanently in my truck and helps me reach my destinations; I NEVER leave home without it. The second one remains at home and contains the heritage and stocked waters information mentioned above.

Also, have you noticed how gazetteers quickly fall apart because their pages are held together by only three staples? I have “bound” both of my atlases using a heavy-duty sowing needle and twine. Those pages have stayed put ever since!

 

 

The Annual Stocking Reports

The Maine Department and Fish and Wildlife (MDIFW) publishes its stocking activities in an online report that is updated daily during the spring and fall stocking seasons.

This information is a veritable GOLD MINE! It is organized alphabetically by county and shows the species, quantity, and size of the stocked salmonids.

Combining these stocking data with the surface area of a pond allows me to determine the exact stocking densities (does the pond receive 5 fish per acre or 50 fish per acre?) of different-sized fish.

I closely scrutinize this material to help me decide where and when to go trout fishing, what species and size to target, and what to expect from the experience.

For example, all my fall wader angling adventures are planned directly based on this information.

 

 

Maine’s Heritage Fish Waters List

Our state is blessed to have retained hundreds of lakes, mostly in western and northern Maine, that support self-sustaining brook trout populations. Many of those waterbodies contain genetically-pure native brookies. Others have wild brookies whose ancestors were stocked decades ago but are now self-reproducing.

I derive a lot of satisfaction knowing that the brook trout at the other end of my line is not a farmed animal but a creature which overcame the unforgiving conditions of its habitat.

This list provides a direct conduit to the many Heritage Fish Waters that I have visited in the past (click here, here, here, and here for a few examples).

Keep in mind that Heritage Fish Waters have strict angling regulations (see next section) to protect their unique trout patrimony.

 

 

Maine Inland Fishing Laws

I think we can all agree that Maine’s freshwater fishing laws are highly convoluted and very confusing… I make it a point to ALWAYS check the law book before I go anywhere unfamiliar because the rules can differ widely across water bodies, and it is real easy to make mistakes. And the regulations can and do change over time…

But those willing to dig will find precious gems deep within those regulatory layers. For example, a) code FFO (fly fishing only) tells you that the pond or lake is managed exclusively to protect a unique trout population, b) codes S-16, S-17, and S-18 (minimum length limits on brook trout) says that the water body is managed specifically to yield larger-than-usual fish, or c) code CI (closed to ice fishing), when applied to a stocked pond, tells you that this water will be full of larger hungry trout eager to bite the following spring (click here, here, and here for examples).

The way to efficiently find these places is to click on the fishing laws link above, go to the “Special Fishing Laws”, and search for a specific code to identify target ponds. Paying attention to these kinds of details can greatly enhance your fishing experiences.

 

 

Google Maps

Much of my fishing occurs in places I have never visited before and will never go back to again. Google Maps has become an indispensable tool to prepare for such trips.

“Street View” helps me find and visualize water access points along roads.

I “fly” on-screen over my target water body to pinpoint boat launches (also shown in The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer) or non-official entry points, find hidden access roads, observe shorelines and shore structure (e.g., boulders and fallen trees in the water), and generally get a feel for a place before I reach it.

I am much more productive if I do not have to waste time figuring out how to access an unknown water body or how to fish it once I am there.

 

 

Depth Maps

The MDIFW provides depth maps for just about lake in Maine. I always print out the depth map of the lake I plan to visit, especially if it is the first time.

During the ice fishing season, these maps help me find drop-offs, shallow areas along the shore, deep holes, trenches, etc.

During trolling season, they tell me what areas to avoid (e.g., too shallow) or to target (e.g., areas deep enough to form a thermocline).

Anglers should not use these crude maps to navigate. Nevertheless, they provide a good sense of the general bathymetry of your target lake.

I extensively rely on this resource to plan my fishing trips. I realize that fancy fish finders may provide electronic depth maps. However, those are useless for the vast majority of places I like to visit. The reason is that those places are small, off the beaten track, or can only accommodate hand-carried craft.

 

 

Surface Water Quality Data

I enjoy the challenge of summer trolling for rainbow trout, brown trout, and splake in lakes. Consistent success in that specialized type of fishing requires detailed knowledge about the location of the thermocline in those waters.

The thermocline is where the trout hide in the summer from warm water at the top and oxygen-poor water below. Locate the thermocline and ye might catch trout (or other interesting fish)!

I obtain that lake-specific information from Lakes of Maine. The information consists of oxygen levels and water temperatures collected in summer and fall from hundreds of Maine lakes.

Specifically, I search for my target lake, click on the “water quality” tab at the top, then click on the “dissolved oxygen and temperature” tab at the top. I carefully look at several years’ worth of water quality data for the month I want to troll. This information allows me to estimate a) at what depth the thermocline resides (determined as the 6-foot depth interval where the temperature drops the most), and b) the levels of oxygen above, within, and below the thermocline.

The aim is two-fold. Find the depth of the thermocline and determine if it has enough oxygen to support trout. The minimum acceptable level is 6 milligram per liter, also reported as parts per million (ppm).

If the thermocline is oxygen poor, then I determine the depth above it that has the minimum of 6 ppm, even if water temperatures are on the warmer side.

The end result is the exact depth range where I need to place my lures to encounter trout. Beware that this depth differs across lakes, and may be higher or lower depending on local conditions.

 

 

Summary of Identifying Lakes to Catch Trout in Maine

I think you can see the pattern. My goal is to gain as much knowledge as possible about the lake I plan to fish before I leave.

That body of information informs me how to access the place, where to fish, what species to target, what size to expect, and what to look out for. I simply do not fish “willy-nilly” because that is a proven recipe for failure.

Of course, good intel does not guarantee that you will catch fish. These creatures do have a mind of their own and they use it, believe me! However, anglers who possess strong situational awareness and site-specific knowledge reliably tip the scales in their own favor. They also get skunked less often!

After all, isn’t that what fishing is all about?

 

 

Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions.

 

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