Brook trout fishing on Grassy Pond, Baxter State Park, Maine (September 26 and 27, 2016)

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A walk through the enchanted forest

A walk through the enchanted forest

Grassy Pond is one of a dozen and a half gorgeous native brook trout ponds sprinkled around the southwestern corner of Baxter State Park (BSP) in northern Maine. It is found right off the Appalachian Trail (AT) about 1 mile south of the Katahdin Stream campground located on the Park Tote Road (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 50 D4). At first blush, this pond would not seem to qualify as a brook trout haunt! It’s name aptly describes the apparent conundrum: the pond is so shallow (< 4 ft) that thin aquatic vegetation (“grass”) emerges all over the water surface. If this water body were located anywhere else but in BSP, it would be dismissed out of hand as habitat suitable only for pickerel, yellow perch, or sunfish. But don’t be fooled by appearances because Grassy Pond supports a thriving population of native brookies. The secret lies in its source of water, which is supplied directly by Katahdin Stream. This ice-cold brook, which originates on the slopes of mighty Mount Katahdin, enters the north end of the pond and exits it to the southeast. The stream keeps the surface water in the pond cool and oxygenated, and the abundant vegetation and soft bottom serves as a hyper-active bug factory to feed all the hungry trout.

 

 

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TOP 5 Brook Trout Ponds for the 2014 Spring Fishing Season in Cumberland County, Maine

This blog identifies the ponds in Cumberland County, Maine that provide the best odds of catching brook trout during the spring of 2014. Most of these ponds cover less than 50 acres and are therefore relatively small. Some ponds can be fished from shore, but most are best fished from a canoe or other small craft. The action on these bodies of water can be fast and furious in the spring. Trout activity typically peaks between late April and early June, after which the fishing slows down in response to rising surface water temperatures.

The TOP 5 brook trout ponds in Cumberland County for the spring of 2014 are highlighted below in alphabetical order. A pond is considered TOP due to its trout stocking density: after all, everything else being equal, the more brook trout that are stocked per acre of pond, the greater the chances of catching those fish.

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