Little Watchic Pond is located in the town of Standish (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 D5). Getting to the water is tricky because the surrounding area is crisscrossed by numerous dirt roads used by four-wheelers and snowmobilers. The best option is to turn onto Middle Road from Boundary Road and drive for 2.6 miles until reaching a gated crossroad. Check if the gate on the left is unlocked/open. If it is, then drive on that road until reaching the gravel pit after about 0.2 miles. Stay on the right of the pit and turn right on the second dirt road (the first one is currently blocked by large boulders). The pond is 0.2 miles further down. Stay right, then left, then right again at each of the splits on this dirt road. The launch by the pond is rough but can handle small trailered boats.
View along the shoreline of Little Watchic Pond
To use the alternative access point, drive on Middle Road (coming from Boundary Road) for 2.2 miles up to a forest trail on the left. The trail is marked by several large boulders on either side. Drive on this trail for just over 0.1 mile. The access point to the pond will be on the right. This last section is too rough for driving, except by 4X4 vehicles. You’ll need to carry your canoe or kayak for about 200 ft to reach the edge of the water.
Little Watchic Pond is a pretty and remote-feeling body of water consisting of a large southern lobe and a much smaller northern lobe. The two lobes are connected by a 300 ft long but narrow and weedy thoroughfare.
View along the shoreline of Little Watchic Pond
The pond has a total surface area of 55 acres and a maximum depth of 22 ft. It is surrounded by woods and is devoid of houses or cabins. The shoreline is entirely encircled by a wide and dense band of aquatic vegetation, consisting mainly of lilypads and arrowhead/pickerelweed. The water has a brown-colored tint. The water column 8 ft or more below the surface also experiences a severe oxygen deficiency in the summer, which means that the fishing must focus on the shallows. I have fished this pond for years and have caught several largemouth bass > 20”; the largest one measured 23.5”!
One last view along the shoreline of Little Watchic Pond
I reach Little Watchic Pondat 2:30 pm and launch my canoe. I start by using a rubber froggy in the dense lilipads, which results in several hits but only one small largemouth bass. It’s tough to set the hook amongst all the vegetation with such a bulky lure. Instead, I use the frog to elicit a strike, after which I immediately switch to a weedless plastic worm which I pitch in the strike area. More often than not, the waiting bass takes the worm. This is fun fishing! I catch two more bass that way until the bite stops. I switch to a large, noisy black buzzbait (with a double-tailed white plastic trailer for added action) to probe the outer edges of the weeds. This is my ticket! I catch seven more largemouth bass over the next three hours. Two of those fish exceed 18”. I also get a tremendous hit by what must have been an even larger bass, but he gets away by burying into the dense vegetation and unhooking himself. Wow, what a great afternoon of fishing : )
The results: I catch 10 largemouth bass (largest fish = 18.5”) in five hours of fishing.
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