Tag Archives: trolling

The portable downrigger: an efficient way to troll

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My blog readers know that I spend a LOT of time trolling in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. This technique can be a bit boring but is a highly-efficient way to target salmonids (click here and here for examples) and non-salmonids (click here and here for examples) by probing large areas of their habitat using multiple lures. I deploy two different sets of “tools” to support my trolling addiction: lead core line and a portable downrigger. This blog discusses the latter, and more specifically the setup that I have used for years, and which has worked well for me. For the record, I also troll using floating Rapalas, but that approach is fundamentally different from placing lures at depth and is therefore not discussed further.

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pleasant Lake, Casco, Cumberland County, Maine (March 19, 2024)

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View of Pleasant Lake from the boat launch

 

Pleasant Lake is a 1,332-acre body of water found in Casco, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A1). Access is super easy: drive through the center of Casco on Route 121 and turn unto Mayberry Hill Road. The hard-top public boat launch is located a few hundred feet down that road on your left at the very southern tip of the lake. A large dirt parking area is situated right across from the launch.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Loon Lake in Dallas Plantation, Franklin County, Maine (September 29, 2023)

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While driving on Loon Lake Road, turn left at this sign to reach the public access point.

 

Loon Lake is a 192-acre body of water located in Dallas Plantation, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 28 D5). To reach the public access point, drive on Routes 4 and 16 towards Rangeley, turn left on Loon Lake Road, and drive for 3.5 miles before turning left on the gravel road indicated by the blue public access sign. Note that this gravel road is gated (the gate was open). I suspect that the gate is closed during mud season in the spring. Drive on this well-maintained gravel road for 0.9 miles until you see the clearly marked foot path that gets you to the western end of the lake after an easy two-minute walk. Vehicles can be parked on the side of the road. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from this location.

 

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

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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 rainbow trout on Little Sebago Lake in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (August 7, 2023)

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I feel so alive when contemplating a view such as this one!

 

Little Sebago Lake covers 1,898 acres and is located in Windham and Gray, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). To reach the public boat launch, drive north through downtown Windham on Route 302 (Roosevelt Trail) in the direction of Raymond, turn right on Anglers Way at the light by Bob’s Seafood restaurant and Franco’s Bistro, drive past Pettingill Pond, and just follow the blue boat launch signs. The distance between Route 302 and your destination is exactly 1.3 miles. The hard-top boat launch is spacious and has plenty of parking. It also offers a convenient porta potty.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on remote ponds in Southern Oxford County

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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 Moose Pond in Bowtown Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 30, 2022)

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Parts of the unimproved forest road leading into Moose Pond have been ripped open by four-wheelers during mud season.

 

Moose Pond covers 11 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). This pond can be reached as follows: from North New Portland (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 E2), drive north on Long Falls Dam Road for about 24.5 miles and turn right on Carrying Place Road at the sign for Cobb’s Camps. Drive down this gravel logging road for 10.1 miles until the yield traffic sign and turn left on Bowtown Road (note: Google Maps calls this road “Otter Pond Road”). Pass Harrison Camp on the left, cross Pierce Pond Stream and drive for another 4 miles or so until the road forks. Hang a right at that fork and look for a rough and unimproved forest road to your right a couple of hundred feet further down. Don’t bother driving down this forest road in the spring because several sections of it have been plowed open by four-wheelers and 4X4 vehicles during Mud Season, creating deeply-rutted pools of soft mud. It’s about a half-mile walk from Bowtwon Road to the pond.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on King Pond in Bowtown Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 29, 2022)

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King Pond covers 16 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). Five of us are spending four fabulous days during the long Memorial Day weekend fishing Pierce Pond for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, as well as some of the smaller water bodies in the surrounding watershed for brook trout. We are staying “in style” at one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Sporting Camps located on the shore of the lower basin of Pierce Pond. A critical benefit of staying at Cobb’s Camp is access to their locked canoes that are strategically stored at various local ponds, plus detailed directions on the locations of the trailheads that connect Pierce Pond to those water bodies. King Pond is publicly accessible from land, although I have not attempted to reach it via the old logging roads and trails shown on map 30 A2.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Overset Pond in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (May 21, 2022)

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The gate on Overset Pond Lane is closed. I have to haul in all my equipment using my canoe wheels.

 

Overset Pond covers 18 acres and is located in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 C4). To reach this location, drive north on Route 219 (Greenwood Road) into Greenwood. Turn left on Patch Mountain Road and drive down this road for 0.5 miles. Then, turn right on Willis Mills Road and after 0.1 mile, turn right again on Overset Pond Lane. Note that the latter goes through privately-owned woodlands. The landowners allow public access via permissive trespass. However, they also installed a sturdy gate that is locked during mud season to prevent vehicles from destroying Overset Pond Lane. The sign says that the gate will be open on May 23. To reach the pond when the gate is locked (as it is for me today), leave your vehicle at the small parking lot by the gate and walk for about ¾ of a mile. Be aware that Overset Pond Lane is deceptively steep! It took me 30 minutes of serious huffing and puffing to pull up all my gear on my canoe wheels, but only 20 minutes to return back to the gate at the end of my trip. At some point, the lane bifurcates. Look for a small brown sign by the tree line on the left just passed the fork that says “Overset”. That’s the start of the 2.2 mile Overset Pond hiking trail which loops around the pond. It takes about 8 to 10 minutes to reach the access point from here (hang a left at the bifurcation on the trail at the southern tip of the pond). Note that this trail is too rough to accommodate canoe wheels. Hence, everything has to be carried in by hand from the road to the access point. I do have a sneaky, but unproven, suspicion that the gravel road to the left of the bifurcation may in fact extend to the access point which also has a campsite and a fire ring.

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Fishing for brook trout on Keys Pond in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (May 19, 2022)

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The public access point is unimproved but could accommodate a small, trailered boat.

 

Keys Pond covers 192 acres and is located in Sweden, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10E3). The public access is found at the northern tip, in the vicinity of the outlet. To reach this point, drive north on Plummer School Road, and turn left on Perry Hill Road. Stay on this road for 0.2 miles before turning left on Keys Pond Road. The access point is located 0.3 miles down that road on your left. Motorboats are not explicitly prohibited on this body of water but the town has established a voluntary engine size limit of 5 horse power. The launch is rough, narrow, a bit muddy, and sandy but could accommodate a small, trailered boat in a pinch. A limited area for rough parking is available next to the launch.

 

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