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A gorgeous view of Farrington Pond with White Mountain National Forest as a backdrop

Farrington Pond is an 89-acre body of water located in Lovell, Oxford County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D1). The pond, which is just north of the lower bay of Kezar Lake, is situated off F Road, which itself is located off West Lovell Road. Beware that the sign for F Road consists only of a small ivory white placard with the letter “F” on it. Next to it is a bigger painted wooden sign that reads “Timber Bay Shores; Private Road”, which throws me off because it makes it sound like F Road is a private road. However, I check with a local resident who assures me that F Road is public, which turns out to be the case. The public access point is clearly marked and located 0.3 miles down F Road on the right (just past Lady Slipper Drive). The launch itself is about 400 ft from the wooded parking area down a rough forest trail. Only hand-carried crafts can be launched from that spot. The parking area is in the woods and can accommodate several cars.

I caught a small pickerel and Christian hooked but lost a largemouth bass in this wood

I caught a small pickerel and Christian hooked but lost a largemouth bass in this wood

Farrington Pond is surprisingly shallow for its size, with a maximum and mean depth of just 15 ft and 5 ft, respectively. The one feature that stands out immediately when reaching the water’s edge by the launch is the gorgeous view of the Caribou-Speckled Mountain Wilderness in the White Mountain National Forest which stretches out along the northern horizon. It’s a sight to behold…The water on this pond is clear. The substrate is mostly firm, consisting of sand and gravel interspersed with numerous large boulders. The surrounding landscape is entirely forested. I’m disappointed by the amount and quality of the largemouth bass holding structure, given the shallow nature of this pond and the wooded shoreline. The aquatic vegetation, with one notable exception (see further below) is rather sparse and thin. The amount of sunken wood is also quite limited. The flip side is the sheer beauty of the place. No more than a dozen houses are discretely tucked away into the surrounding woods. Also, none of the docks along the shoreline have any boats bigger than canoes, kayaks, or small aluminum craft. The reason for the lack of large power boats is that engines over 6 horsepower are prohibited on this pond. Hence, everyone is guaranteed a quiet and peaceful fishing experience, occasionally interrupted by the haunting call of the resident loons. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.

The real largemouth bass habitat is located at the northern end of the pond next to a large marshy area

I arrive at Farrington Pond a little after 9 am with my 12 year-old nephew Christian. It’s been a while since he’s joined me to go fishing and he’s excited and talkative. The weather is gorgeous, with full sunshine and a gently breeze. These conditions also appear suitable for the hordes of deer flies which are whirring around our heads! We quickly launch my canoe to get out of their way and start fishing along the southern shoreline. Christian uses a 5” soft stickbait while I switch between a stickbait and a noisy buzzbait. The only place where we both get a hit, and I land a small pickerel, is by some sunken wood along the shoreline. We’ve spent about 1 hour now fishing hard without much luck due to the general lack of holding structure in that part of the pond, when I notice a bunch of white dots on the water at the northern end. It dawns on me that these are lily pad flowers! We paddle across the pond and encounter the type of habitat favored by our query: shallow water (< 5 ft), soft-bottom, and lots of aquatic vegetation to hide and hunt in. The impact of good habitat on our fishing success is immediate. I hook and land one smallish bass, and miss two more substantial fish in 15 minutes using my buzzbait.

Christian has now become a convert to buzzbait fishing!

Christian is still using a stickbait but switches to a buzzbait after that third hit. He’s avoided using this clunky lure in the past because he has had difficulty keeping it consistently on the surface and free of weeds. But he’s older and more confident now and also handier with his rod and reel. He gets two hits in quick succession but each time doesn’t set the hook!! I drilled in him the need to wait before setting the hook when using soft stickbaits, and he’s carrying that idea over to his buzzbait. I explain to him that the latter doesn’t taste or feel like anything natural and that the bass will spit it out the instant they grab it. The lesson works because he hooks and lands two bass in the following ten minutes. He’s BEAMING at his success and new-found skill, and I just love it! Unfortunately, we need to leave in order to make it to the next pond on my list. We hit several promising spots on our way back to the launch. Christian nails his third bass using his new-found buzzbait skills. He declares himself a devoted enthusiast to the lure now that he beat his uncle Stan with it. That works just fine for me…

The results: I caught 1 largemouth bass (14”) and Christian caught 3 largemouth bass (largest = 16”) in two hours of 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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