Fishing for brook trout on Dodge Pond in Rangeley, Franklin County, Maine (September 14, 2024)

 

The unimproved public access point to Dodge Pond can accommodate small trailed boats.

 

This blog continues my exploration of the trout fishing opportunities in the Rangeley region. Click here, here, here, here, here, and here for other reports from this general area. Dodge Pond is a 230-acre body of water located in Rangeley, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 28 E4). The public access point consists of an unimproved boat launch located at the southern tip of the pond by the outlet on Route 4/16. The gravel ramp can accommodate small, trailered boats. Parking is rather limited at the launch itself, but several more parking spots are available along an expanded shoulder on the other side of the bridge over the outlet.

 

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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 brown trout on Sand Pond in Denmark, Oxford County, Maine (September 4, 2024

 

The boat launch by the outlet of Hancock Pond is wide and spacious. Remember to leave your vehicle at the parking area across the road behind the mailboxes.

 

Sand Pond is a 256-acre body of water located in Denmark, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B3. NOTE: both the Gazetteer and Google Maps refer to it as Walden Pond). This pond does not have a public launch area. Instead, access is via the hard-topped municipal boat launch found at the outlet of nearby Hancock Pond. Both ponds are connected via a short but shallow (< 1 ft. deep) thoroughfare. Keep in mind that the Hancock Pond launch is not deep and that trailered boats need to be backed out a way before they will float off. Also, a local homeowner tells me that vehicles should not be left behind in the launch area itself but instead must be parked in the open area across Wabunaki Road behind the mailboxes. The launch area does not provide any signs clarifying that important detail. Beware that, in the past, some vehicles parked at the launch have been towed away by the town at the owner’s expense…

 

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