Monthly Archives: May 2025

Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pierce Pond in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 22, 2025)

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The morning is cold, breezy, and overcast. But the fish are biting!

 

Pierce Pond covers 1,650 acres and is located in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). The main (paying) access to the pond is via the boat launch located on Lindsey Cove at the end of Cobb Camps Road off the Carrying Place Road. This sandy launch is unimproved but can accommodate large, trailered craft. Plenty of parking is available by the launch. Follow the discrete green “Cobbs Camps” signs which begin appearing at the point where Carrying Place Road splits off from Long Falls Dam Road. The dirt road between Long Falls Dam Road and Lindsey Cove is reasonably well maintained and can be used by regular two-wheel drive vehicles. Note that Cobb Camps Road is gated and that the gate attendant works between 7 am and 8 pm. An unofficial launch with two rough camp sites is also found at the northern tip of Upper Pierce Pond. I have not used this launch before nor do I know how to access it.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Bowler Pond in Palermo, Waldo County, Maine (May 16, 2025)

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View of the rough launch at the south end of Bowler Pond.

 

Bowler Pond (a.k.a. Belton Pond) is a 34-acre body of water located in Palermo, Waldo County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13 A5). The public access is via a rough, unimproved launch found at the southern tip of the pond off Level Hill Road. Someone in the past spread a pile of small boulders on a limited section of the launch, presumably to fix muddy ruts. I was glad to have a four-wheel drive truck to pull my trailered boat out of the water and across these slippery rocks. Beware also that the water by the launch stays shallow for about 30 ft. offshore, which requires backing into the pond a ways to float the boat off the trailer. Of course, this is not an issue if fishing from a canoe or kayak. Parking is quite limited at this location; the narrow road shoulder can accommodate only a few cars. An alternative carry-in access point is found about a quarter mile passed the boat launch off Level Hill Road next to a small sandy parking area.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on Scraggly Lake, Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (May 7, 2025)

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View of the short and deep thoroughfare connecting Scraggly Lake to Junior Lake seen in the background.

 

Scraggly Lake is a 2,758-acre body of water located in Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 A2). The Gazetteer shows an unimproved public boat launch on Hasty Cove off the Amazon Road along the eastern shore of the lake. I do not know the quality of this launch nor how drivable the Amazon Road is during mud season. Feel free to let us know via the comment section below. Instead, I gain access using the public launch on Bottle Lake (see map 35 A1) which connects to Junior Lake via a 1.5-mile-long shallow thoroughfare called Bottle Lake Stream. I then cross Junior Lake and enter Scraggly Lake via a short but deep and wide thoroughfare. The Bottle Lake launch is found at the end of a paved road and remains fully accessible even during the worst of mud season in April and early May when the surrounding gravel roads may be impassable. Duck Lake (see map 45 E1) also has a boat launch which connects to Junior Lake via a 0.3-mile-long unnamed thoroughfare. I have not used this launch before but have motored up from Junior Lake into Duck Lake in early May without a problem. The shallow and bouldery thoroughfares from Bottle Lake and Duck Lake can easily accommodate motorized craft in early spring when water levels are high. However, beware that passage gets trickier later in the year when the water levels drop.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on Junior Lake, Lakeville, Penobscot County, Maine (May 5, 2025)

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The afternoon turns into a gorgeous and warm experience.

 

Junior Lake is a 3,866-acre body of water located in Lakeville and Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 A1). This lake does not have a public boat launch. Instead, access is via two launches found on nearby Bottle Lake (see map 35 A1) and Duck Lake (see map 45 E1). The former is connected to Junior Lake via a 1.5-mile-long thoroughfare called Bottle Lake Stream. The latter is connected to Junior Lake via a 0.3-mile-long unnamed thoroughfare. I have used the Bottle Lake launch and not the other but have motored up from Junior Lake into Duck Lake without a problem. The Bottle Lake launch is located at the end of a paved road and is easily accessible even during the worst of mud season in late April and early May when the surrounding gravel roads may be impassable. The shallow and bouldery thoroughfares can easily accommodate motorized craft in early spring when water levels are high. However, beware that passage with an engine gets trickier later in the year when the water levels drop.

 

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