Ice fishing for brook trout on Deer Pond in Hollis, Maine (February 7, 2016)

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Christian is jigging. Notice the ice shacks by the boat launch.

Christian is jigging. Notice the ice shacks by the boat launch and the sloppy slush on the ice.

Deer Pond is a 32-acre body of water located in the town of Hollis, York County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 A5). The town-owned access point, which is not shown on the map, can be found at the southern end of the pond right off busy Route 117 (Cape Road). Driving east on Route 117, look for a long brown wooden fence on the left. This access point, which is not posted, is situated on the left at the end of that fence. Parking is mostly on the shoulder of Route 117. I’m targeting Deer Pond for ice fishing this morning for two reasons: (a) I had great success catching trout while trolling this pond last November (click here for details), and (b) the pond was nicely stocked by the state last fall with larger trout (click here for details). My goal/hope is to catch some of those larger fish through the ice. In addition, Deer Pond is unusually deep (maximum depth of 60 ft) for its small size. The large volume of cold, highly oxygenated water allows the trout to survive from year to year, and grow big. As a result, this pond has restrictive ice fishing rules to protect the high quality of its trout fishery. Specifically, only two lines are allowed per person. Click here for more details on the fishing rules. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.

 

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Kids ice fishing for brook trout on Round Pond in Lyman, Maine (January 30, 2016)

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Christian and Antony are both jigging for trout

Christian and Geovanni are both jigging for trout

Round Pond is a small 6-acre body of water located in Lyman, York County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 B5). The pond is found at the intersection of Route 35 (Goodwins Mills Road) and Mast Road on property belonging to the York County Fish and Game Club. (YCF&GC; click here for details). Public access is through the gate by the small parking area off Mast Road. Note that Round Pond is a “KIDS ONLY” pond, but only during the hard-water season. It is fishable through the ice under Special Regulation code S-9 (i.e., open to fishing only to persons under 16 years old; restricted to two lines per person; daily bag limit for trout is two fish). The pond, which has a mean and maximum depth of 14 ft and 36 ft, respectively, sits in a distinct bowl surrounded by woods. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. The only human structure visible from the ice is the YCF&GC club house sitting on top of the hill on the southern end. The state stocks this pond each fall with an abundance of brookies to create fast fishing action on the ice for kids.
 

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