About three dozen ponds in Oxford County, Maine, were stocked in the fall of 2012 with brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout and/or splake to support ice fishing during the winter of 2013. Most of the stocked trout are relatively small (7” to 11”), but plentiful, in order to provide fast action on the ice.
The state also spices-up several of these ponds with bigger trout, which I define here as fish measuring 12” or more. This blog highlight the ponds (presented in alphabetical order) in Oxford County where ice fishermen have the best odds of catching those larger fish. It is recommended to consult the latest law book (available here) about special ice fishing rules that may apply on the ponds described below. Note also that the list excludes “kids only” ponds.
Keep in mind that the number of bigger trout stocked in a pond is typically much lower than for the smaller trout. Hence, patience is required to catch one of those larger fish. As a rough comparison, the average stocking rate for landlocked salmon in Maine is about 0.5 salmon per acre (which is equivalent to 1 salmon every two acres).
I did my utmost best to verify that a particular pond is indeed open for ice fishing, but I make no guarantees whatsoever that my interpretation of the convoluted Maine fishing rules is accurate or correct. It is up to each reader of this blog to ensure that the ponds listed below can be fished through the ice.
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Bickford Pond covers 237 acres and is located alongside Bickford Pond Road in the town of Porter (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 C1). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (100 fish of 13”, 55 fish of 15” and 16 fish of 17”) and big brown trout (400 fish of 13”), which yields about 2 large trout per acre.
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Big Clemons Pond covers 64 acres and is located alongside Notch Road in the town of Hiram (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 C2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (150 fish of 13”), which yields about 2 large trout per acre.
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Burnt Meadow Pond covers 69 acres and is located alongside Route 160 in the town of Brownfield (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (150 fish of 13”) and big brown trout (100 fish of 13”), which yields about 4 large trout per acre.
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Hall Pond covers 51 acres and is located alongside Halls Pond Road in the town of South Paris (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 D2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (200 fish of 13” and 15 fish of 17”) and big brown trout (50 fish of 13” and 50 fish of 18”), which yields about 6 large trout per acre. Halls Pond provides one of the best odds of catching a 2.5 to 3.0 lbs stocked brown trout in this part of the state during the 2013 ice fishing season. BEWARE: GASOLINE-POWERED AUGERS ARE NOT ALLOWED ON THIS POND!!
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Hutchinson Pond covers 93 acres and is located alongside Hutchinson Pond Road in the Township of Albany (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 C4). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (100 fish of 13”) and big brown trout (75 fish of 13”), which yields about 2 large trout per acre.
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Little Clemons Pond covers 25 acres and is located in the corner formed by Route 160 and Notch Road in the town of Hiram (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 C2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (100 fish of 13” and 27 fish of 15”), which yields about 5 large trout per acre.
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Little Penneseewassee Pond covers 96 acres and is located alongside Route 118 (Waterford Road) in the town of Norway (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D5). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (200 fish of 13”) and big brown trout (100 fish of 12”), which yields about 3 large trout per acre.
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Stanley Pond covers 137 acres and is located alongside Route 160 in the town of Hiram (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 C2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (200 fish of 13” and 11 fish of 17”), which yields about 2 large trout per acre.
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Twitchell Pond covers 158 acres and is located alongside Greenwood Road in the town of Greenwood (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B4). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (350 fish of 13”) and big brown trout (150 fish of 13”), which yields about 3 large trout per acre.
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Virginia Lake covers 128 acres and is located alongside Virginia Lake Road in the town of Stoneham (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 C2). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (300 fish of 13”), which yields about 2 large trout per acre.
Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions by posting a comment. Also, feel free to tell us about your fishing experiencs on any of the ponds presented above.
