Author Archives: Stan

About Stan

Hi there! I'm a four-season freshwater fishing Mainiac who chases after salmonids and largemouth/smallmouth bass year-round. This is my blog. I also maintain a web site (www.amazingfishametric.com) to help fellow anglers find great fishing spots in Maine. The site is free, fun, and full of information. Check it out; you'll enjoy it. Happy fishing!

Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout in Pierce Pond, Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 27 and 28, 2024)

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Six of us are on our annual extended Memorial Day weekend fishing pilgrimage to Pierce Pond, located at the end of a long dirt road off the grid in Somerset County, just east of Flagstaff Lake (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). We are staying for four days in one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Camps located across from Lindsey Cove. I love staying at Cobb’s because of the camaraderie among the guests who have been gathering at this place for decades, the honest home-cooked food, the super-friendly staff, and the authentic “sports camp” atmosphere from a bygone era. Also, the lack of electronic connection to the outside world forces everyone to unplug, slow down, and focus entirely on the business at hand, which is to catch salmonids.

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Panther Pond in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (May 19, 2024)

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The boat launch by the dam at Mill Street is unimproved and parking by the road is limited

 

Panther Pond is a 1,439-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). This lake can be reached by boat via two public access points: one is located at the dam by the outlet on Mill Street; the second is represented by the public launch on Crescent Lake but requires navigating for about 15-20 minutes through the shallow and meandering Tenney River. I choose the former this morning. Keep in mind that the Mill Street access point will be closed between June 1 and September 2024 due to dam renovation work. Also, that boat launch is unimproved and offers only limited parking space for vehicle with trailers along the shoulder of Mill Street.

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pocumcus Lake in Sakom Township, Washington County, Maine (April 28, 2024)

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Click here for the previous day’s fishing story.

 

 

Wakey-wakey! It is time to go fish hunting!

 

Salvy and I crawl out of our cozy sleeping bags at 4:45 am, dress up warmly, and get ready to troll the Golden Hour to try to emulate the angling success from yesterday morning. Over the next three hours, we fish the Narrows (i.e., the deep channel that connects West Grand Lake to Junior Bay), the deeper eastern half of Junior Bay, and Pocumcus Lake. We come up woefully short, with only one hit to show for all our early-morning efforts…

 

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Fishing for lake trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pocumcus Lake in Sakom Township, Washington County, Maine (April 26 and 27, 2024)

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Sitting by the boat launch on Bottle Lake and studying the map to find our way to the camp site on Junior Bay

 

Pocumcus Lake is a 2,201-acre body of water located in Sakom Township, Washington County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 B2). It is part of the enormous hydraulically interconnected system that includes West Grand Lake, Scraggly Lake, Junior Lake, Junior Bay, and Sysladobsis Lake. We access this waterway via the public boat launch on Bottle Lake in Lakeville (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 A1), which links to Junior Lake via Bottle Lake Stream. For the record, Bottle Lake Road, which connects Route 6 in Springfield with the boat launch, is paved all the way and is therefore readily accessible even during mud season in late April. My son Joel, nephew Salvy, and I reach Bottle Lake in mid-morning. We overload our boats with all our camping and fishing gear and slowly navigate for one hour and 45 minutes to an unmarked camp site located at the tip of the peninsula that separates Junior Bay from Junior Stream. That will be our base camp for the next four day. We are here to experience the tremendous landlocked salmon and lake trout fishery that is awakening from its long winter slumber following ice out. One nice perk of camping in late April is the total lack of the dreaded hordes of mosquitos and blackflies. On the other hand, early spring can still be quite chilly in these parts of Maine.

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Crescent Lake in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (April 17, 2024)

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The boat launch by Crescent Lake with view of the water beyond

 

Crescent Lake is a 716-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). The public access point is found at the southern tip of the lake by Route 85 (Webbs Mill Road). It consists of a hard-top boat launch with ample parking space available by the road shoulder. Keep in mind that this launch can get quite busy on weekends because it serves two lakes: not only Crescent but also Panther Pond which lacks a proper launch and is accessible via the shallow Tenny River that connects these two water bodies. The town of Raymond also maintains a small but popular public beach right next to the launch that attracts additional local folks and vehicles later in the open-water season.

 

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Lead core line: a highly-efficient way to troll!

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My blog readers know that I spend a LOT of time trolling in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. This technique can be a bit boring but is a great way to target salmonids (click here and here for examples) and non-salmonids (click here and here for examples) by probing large areas of their habitat using multiple lures. I deploy two distinct sets of “tools” to support my trolling habits: lead core line and a portable downrigger. This blog discusses the former, and more specifically the setup that I have used for years, and which has worked well for me. For the record, I also troll for smallmouth bass using floating Rapalas, but that approach is fundamentally different from placing lures at depth and is therefore not discussed further.

 

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The portable downrigger: an efficient way to troll

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My blog readers know that I spend a LOT of time trolling in the winter, spring, summer, and fall. This technique can be a bit boring but is a highly-efficient way to target salmonids (click here and here for examples) and non-salmonids (click here and here for examples) by probing large areas of their habitat using multiple lures. I deploy two different sets of “tools” to support my trolling addiction: lead core line and a portable downrigger. This blog discusses the latter, and more specifically the setup that I have used for years, and which has worked well for me. For the record, I also troll using floating Rapalas, but that approach is fundamentally different from placing lures at depth and is therefore not discussed further.

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pleasant Lake, Casco, Cumberland County, Maine (March 19, 2024)

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View of Pleasant Lake from the boat launch

 

Pleasant Lake is a 1,332-acre body of water found in Casco, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A1). Access is super easy: drive through the center of Casco on Route 121 and turn unto Mayberry Hill Road. The hard-top public boat launch is located a few hundred feet down that road on your left at the very southern tip of the lake. A large dirt parking area is situated right across from the launch.

 

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Ice fishing for splake on Mount Blue Pond in Avon, Franklin County, Maine (February 25, 2024)

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Mount Blue Pond is a 134-acre body of water located in Avon, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 19 B3). From Route 4 (Rangeley Road), turn on Mount Blue Pond Road and drive for 2.3 miles all the way to the public access point. The first half of this road is paved, whereas the remainder is a high-quality dirt road. From the looks of it, it appears that the entire road is plowed during the winter months up to the public access point, but no further. Plenty of parking space is available along the road shoulder by the access.

 

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How to identify ponds and lakes for catching trout in Maine

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My blog readers know that one of my angling “specialties” is to explore new places across our great state of Maine and consistently catch trout and salmon in open water or under the ice. Even though I reside in the Sebago Lakes region of southern Maine, I will confidently drive several hours into areas of the state unknown to me and catch salmonids in water bodies located at the end of dirt roads lost in the woods somewhere. Through trial and error, I have developed a winning strategy to uncover these places quickly and efficiently. This blog explains that approach and will help you do the same.

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