Tag Archives: trolling

Fishing for brown trout and brook trout on Middle Range Pond, Poland, Maine (April 23, 2020)

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The passageway underneath Range Hill Road. Middle Range Pond is visible in the background.

 

Middle Range Pond is a 366-acre body of water located in Poland, Androscoggin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A3). This pond is the second of the three interconnected Range Pond chain-of-lakes (i.e., upper, middle, and lower). The middle and upper ponds actually share a public boat launch which is located off Range Hill Road, at the downstream end of upper pond. A narrow passage underneath this road allows boats to access middle pond. Plenty of parking is available at the launch site. Note that the stretch of water between this passageway and Middle Range Pond extends for about a third of a mile, is really shallow (1-2 ft deep), and overgrown with aquatic vegetation later on in the season. It is actually a great spot for catching largemouth bass in May and June, but that is not why I’m here for today.

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Silver Lake in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (April 18, 2020)

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Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre two-lobed body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). Click here for directions on how to reach this location. I note for the record that both Baxter Drive and Community Drive have a panel nailed to a tree along the side of the road stating “dead end”. Just pass those signs and keep on going until you reach the pond.

 

View of the rough boat launch with the southern lobe in the background

 

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Fishing for lake trout on Kezar Lake in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (October 19, 2019)

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I just love the way the rising sun “paints” the surrounding landscape.

 

Kezar Lake is a 2,510-acre body of water located in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D2). To reach this location, drive north on Route 5 past Lovell and turn left on West Stoneham Road. Drive on this road for about 500 ft and look for the large blue boat-launch sign. After passing the sign, turn left on North Lovell Landing Road and drive about a quarter mile all the way down to the lake. The boat launch, which is located at the north end of Upper Bay, is spacious and provides lots of parking area. The launch itself is not improved but can accommodate large boats. In fact, the lake residents use it to put in and take out their pontoon boats. I note for the record that a second boat launch is located further south, by the Narrows on West Lovell Road, between Middle and Lower Bay. I don’t use that launch today because I aim to catch lake trout and landlocked salmon which are more abundant in the deeper Upper Bay.

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Fishing for brown trout on Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (October 12, 2019)

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The boat launch is unimproved, steep, and gravelly…

 

Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). To reach this location, drive on Route 27 north (towards Belgrade), turn left on Summerhaven Road, go for about 0.6 miles before turning left on Baxter Drive, drive for about 0.2 miles and turn right on Community Drive. The southern lobe of the pond will soon appear on your right. The public boat launch consists of loose gravel and is otherwise unimproved, but can accommodate small trailered boats. However, keep in mind that the launch is fairly steep; I had to use four-wheel drive to pull my boat up the wet and gravelly incline on my way out. In addition, the water by the launch is rather shallow, which requires backing into the lake a fair bit before the boat will float off. I also had to put on my hip boots to manually guide my boat back on the trailer on account of the shallow depth by the launch. Parking space is limited on Community Drive and occurs along the side of the road next to the launch.

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Fishing for brown trout on Biscay Pond in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (September 28, 2019)

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View of the sandy boat launch. The picture does not do justice to the wind howling down the length of the pond.

 

Biscay Pond is a 377-acre body of water located in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 A4). To reach this location, drive on Route 1 into downtown Damariscotta, turn onto Biscay Road (by the McDonald’s restaurant), and drive down that road for about 2.5 miles. The pond will appear on your right. The boat launch is sandy and unimproved, but can accommodate large trailered boats. The biggest challenge with this launch is its shallowness, which requires backing your vehicle quite a way into the water before the boat will float. I’m very glad I brought my Jeep and hip boots! Ample parking is available along Biscay Road.

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro, Maine (November 24, 2018)

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We came prepared to launch the boat using the 4X4!

 

Little Ossipee Lake covers 564 acres and is located in Waterboro, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 A4). Access to this body of water is via an excellent hard-top boat launch located next to Route 5 along the western side of the lake. Ample parking is available next to the launch, as are two porta potties. The lake supports a well-known and popular regional salmonid fishery (rainbow trout in particular, but also brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon) which the state maintains via an aggressive annual stocking program. It is also a well-known bass-fishing hot spot. Its easy accessibility and smorgasbord of desirable species ensures that the lake is pounded hard each year during the ice-fishing season, including a well-attended annual ice-fishing derby. I’m going to get a piece of this sweet pie ahead of the crowds…

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Fishing for splake on Indian Pond in Greenwood, Maine (October 7, 2018)

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The boat launch at Indian Pond is unimproved but can easily accommodate small trailered boats

 

Indian Pond covers 68 acres and is located in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). The access point is on Hobbs Road, off Rowe Hill Road, at the northern end of the pond. Drive on Hobbs Road for 0.6 miles until you reach a gate with a “no trespassing” sign. The boat launch is on the right just before that gate. The launch is unimproved but can easily accommodate small trailered boats. Parking is on the side in the woods.

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Fishing for brook trout on Lower South Branch Pond in Baxter State Park, Maine (September 29, 2018)

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A stunning view of Lower South Branch Pond from the canoe launch area

 

My son Joel and I are leaving town for the weekend to partake in our annual fall camping, fishing, and hiking trip. We’ve decided to visit one of our favorite destinations to pursue these shared passions, namely Baxter State Park (BSP) in northern Maine. The plan is to fish for native brook trout on Lower South Branch Pond on Saturday afternoon, sleep at one of the lean-tos at the camp area by the pond Saturday night, and spend the next day hiking the awesome Traveler Mountains loop trail, which starts and ends at the pond. The South Branch Pond camp site is accessible by car, which makes it very convenient to get to. Camping reservations must be made in advance by contacting BSP directly. Before I get on the topic of fishing, let me say that the effort required to hike the Travelers is, in my opinion, on par with hiking Mount Kathadin located at the southern end of BSP! The Travelers hike may take up to 9 or 10 hours to complete, ascends and descends three main peaks (and numerous “false peaks”), and is quite technical, particularly the first half of the hike (Center Ridge Trail) where long stretches of the “trail” consist of enormous boulder fields that will test your ankles, knees, balance, and muscles. Keep in mind that this hike is NOT for novices or beginners. And here’s the best part. Joel and I encountered a grand total of only two people during the entire day, while I suspect that Mount Katahdin was overrun by hordes of tourists!

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Eight easy steps to sow a baitfish

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Your blog author with a nice brown trout caught at the end of the summer on a sown smelt

Trolling with sown bait is a time-honored Maine tradition for catching salmonids. This highly-effective approach can be used with both fresh bait or dead preserved (e.g., frozen, salted, pickled) bait.

 

Live bait, and smelt in particular, are difficult or impossible to find at your local bait dealer in the summer. The alternative when trolling for salmonids in the summer, therefore, is to use either dead baitfish or lures (e.g., spoons or streamer flies). A dead sown baitfish, if prepared as described in this blog, will provide a much more realistic profile than an artificial lure. Don’t get me wrong here: I’m not implying that artificials don’t work, far from it. After all, I’ve caught way too many salmon and trout trolling with spoons and streamer flies over the years. What I am saying though is that a baitfish, even dead, is more natural-looking than an artificial lure and therefore increases the odds of catching the fish we so desire. I suspect the major reason that the Maine fishing rules only allow for artificial lures when fishing for salmonids in ponds and lakes in southern Maine after October 1 when those fish are getting ready to spawn is because the real thing is so much better at fooling them than artificial lures.

 

Personally, I prefer using a sliding minnow rig if my baitfish is alive. The reason is that a live baitfish will remain alive for a long time on the sliding minnow rig, and will therefore really look and swim like the real thing down below. On the other hand, one just can’t sow a live baitfish as described below and expect it to stay alive for long! So, my preference is to use the sliding minnow rig with live bait and the sowing technique with the stiffer dead bait.

 

Finally, over half a dozen different techniques have been developed to sow a baitfish. Each one gets to the end results slightly differently. The approach I discuss below was taught to me by a Maine old-timer. I find it quick and extremely easy to implement, and simple to teach. So, here it goes.

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Fishing for brown trout on Sand Pond in Litchfield, Maine (September 22, 2018)

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The boat launch on Woodbury Pond is spacious and can accommodate big boats.

 

Sand Pond covers 177 acres and is located in Litchfield, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 D3). This pond does not have its own hard-top public boat launch. The closest one is located at the northern end of Woodbury Pond, which is connected to Sand Pond via a wide underpass over which runs Routes 9 and 126. That public access point can be reached as follows: while driving north on Hallowell Road, turn left on Hardscrabble Road and make an immediate left on Whippoorwill Road. Drive 0.3 miles on this road until you see the blue public access sign to your left. The boat launch is clean, spacious and well-maintained. It provides plenty of parking and also access to a convenient porta potty.
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