Fishing for brook trout on Bryant Pond in Woodstock, Oxford County, Maine (October 13, 2024)

 

The boat launch for Bryant Pond. The dock is gone for the winter. The outlet is at the back of this picture towards the right. The grassy berm is also visible.

 

Bryant Pond (a.k.a. Christopher Pond) is a 278-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). To access this pond, drive on Route 26 and turn off on Old County Road. Drive for about 1 mile before turning left on Rowe Hill Road. The public access point will be immediately to your right and is clearly marked with a blue sign. It is in a small municipal park next to the pond’s outlet. The boat launch is hard-topped. Plenty of parking spaces are available.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on North Pond in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (September 7, 2024)

 

Accessing North Pond by motor boat requires navigating through two large culverts. This one passes underneath Johnny’s Bridge Road.

 

North Pond is a 284-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B4). This pond does not have a public launch area and access to it is tricky. For the record, hand-carried craft can be launched directly into North Pond from a small picnic area on Route 26 next to the pond. However, the ramp for trailered boats, called the Mike Giunta memorial boat launch, is found by Howe Hill Road off Route 26 (Main Street). I had to look for it because it was not clearly indicated either on Route 26 or Howe Hill Road. The hard-topped ramp is narrow, quite steep, and next to deep water. Plenty of parking is available. I found it challenging to retrieve my boat at the end of the trip because I had to place the trailer mostly out of the deep water and on the steep launch. It took a lot of arm juice to manually crank the boat up unto the trailer… Access to North Pond from this location occurs through two separate road culverts. With the ramp in your back, navigate to the upper left-hand corner of the (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Route 26. From there, navigate to the upper right-hand corner of that second (unnamed) water body to pass underneath Johnny’s Bridges Road to reach North Pond. It takes about 15 minutes of no-wake boating to reach your destination from the boat ramp.

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Bryant Pond in Woodstock, Oxford County, Maine (August 16, 2024)

 

The boat launch by the outlet is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking.

 

Bryant Pond (a.k.a. Christopher Pond) is a 278-acre body of water located in Woodstock and Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). To access this pond, drive on Route 26 and turn off on Old County Road. Drive for about 1 mile before turning left on Rowe Hill Road. The public access point will be immediately to your right and is clearly marked with a blue sign. It is located in a small municipal park next to the pond’s outlet. The boat launch is hard-topped and provides plenty of parking area.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on Stearns Pond in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (August 2, 2024)

 

The boat launch is unimproved but wide and provides lots of parking space.

 

Stearns Pond is a 255-acre body of water located in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 E3). To access this pond, turn off Route 93 (Waterford Road) unto Hardscrabble Road. Drive for about 1 mile and turn left on Wint Road. Then drive for <0.2 miles before turning left on Town Landing Road. The unimproved boat launch is located at the end of this short gravel road. Plenty of parking is available next to the launch.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Keoka Lake in Waterford, Oxford County, Maine (October 17, 2023)

 

 

I find brookies about 150 ft to the left of the boat launch

 

Keoka Lake is a 467-acre body of water located in Waterford, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D4). A cement boat launch is located on Route 35 on the western side of the lake. Parking is available on the road shoulder by the launch. One alternative is to park your vehicle in front of the Waterford Historical Society building located next to the boat launch. I see no signs forbidding this practice, but do not know if it is frowned upon.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Keewaydin Lake in Stoneham, Oxford County, Maine (October 17, 2023)

 

 

The boat launch by the dam. The launch is on the right (note the marked chain) and the dam is on the left.

 

Keewaydin Lake is a 307-acre body of water located in Stoneham, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 C3). The public access is located at the outlet by the dam right next to Route 5 at the southern tip of the lake. Plenty of parking area is available around the launch. I notice that the entrance to the boat launch is chained off and therefore inaccessible to watercraft. Fortunately, that does not affect me because I will be fishing in my a waders by the dam.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on Worthley Pond in Peru, Androscoggin County, Maine (August 12, 2023)

 

 

Worthley Pond is a 354-acre body of water located in Peru, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 A3). The public access point is located on East Shore Road and is clearly indicated by a blue boat launch sign. This well-maintained hardtop launch is spacious and offers plenty of parking spaces. It also provides a convenient porter potty during open-water season.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on remote ponds in Southern Oxford County

I admit to having a real soft spot for southern Oxford County, which I define here as the area located south of the Androscoggin River between Gilead and Livermore Falls and north of a line running between Oxford, Harrison, and Freyburg (i.e., essentially maps 10 and 11 in the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer between NH and the border with Androscoggin County). I have crisscrossed that entire sector of the state for well over a decade seeking isolated trout ponds and have always been amazed by its inherent beauty and remote character.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Little Concord Pond in Woodstock, Oxford County, Maine (June 11, 2023)

 

 

The 3/4-mile foot trail leading to Little Concord Pond starts behind this kiosk.

 

Little Concord Pond covers 30 acres and is located in Woodstock, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11A1). To reach the pond, drive down Shagg Pond Road (note: the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer calls it Redding Road), pass the unimproved boat launch on Shagg Pond, and drive another 0.5 miles until you reach a small parking lot across from the wooden kiosk announcing Little Concord Pond State Park.  The pond is another ¾ mile walk from the parking lot down an old closed-off tote road. While the first half of that trail is nice and smooth, the second half is bouldery and steep. As a result, anglers cannot use canoe wheels but must instead carry their craft on their backs. The launch by the pond is not immediately obvious. Fallen trees, floating logs, and aquatic bushes obstruct the area where the trail meets the pond. Instead, a discrete but steep foot trail along the shore to the left crosses over a small rocky knoll before reaching the actual launch which is surrounded by a dozen locked canoes.

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Fishing for brook trout on Abbott Pond in Sumner, Oxford County, Maine (June 10, 2023)

 

 

You have reached your destination!

 

Abbott Pond covers 24 acres and is located in Sumner, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 A1). Access to this pond is a challenge but well worth the effort! From Greenwoods Road in Sumner, turn onto Black Mountain Road (note: the Maine Gazetteer shows that Black Mountain Road splits off from Redding Road, but the road sign by Greenwoods Road reads Black Mountain Road… That confused the heck out of me). Black Mountain Road is paved at first but quickly turns into a gravel road and then into an ATV trail which is very rough in places. You will require a 4X4 vehicle or an ATV to make it all the way. Stay on the main stem of Black Mountain Road for 4.7 miles until you hit a “T” in the road, turn right and drive for 0.4 miles until you hit a “Y” in the road (look for the snowmobile club panel), then turn left and drive for another 0.7 miles until you see the yellow-painted metal gate to Abbott Pond on your right. The pond is an easy 5-minute walk down a good trail from that gate. Do NOT drive down Abbott Pond Road off Redding Road because it quickly transforms into a nasty ATV trail which crosses a small bridge that cannot accommodate larger vehicles, as I found out the hard way…

 

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