About a dozen ponds in Waldo 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 Waldo 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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Dutton Pond covers 36 acres and is located alongside Dutton Pond Road off Route 137 in Knox (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 14 A3). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This pond was stocked in the fall of 2012 with big brook trout (50 fish of 13” and 30 fish of 20”) and big brown trout (50 fish of 12”), which yields about 4 large trout per acre. Dutton Pond offers one of the best odds of catching a 3.5 – 4.0 lbs brook trout in that part of the state during the 2013 ice fishing season!
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Levenseller Pond covers 34 acres and is located alongside Route 173 in Searsmont (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 14 C3). 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 30 fish of 20”), which yields about 4 large trout per acre. Levenseller Pond offers one of the best odds of catching a 3.5 – 4.0 lbs brook trout in that part of the state during the 2013 ice fishing season!
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Norton Pond covers 112 acres and is located alongside Norton Pond Road off Routes 173 and 52 in Lincolnville (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 14 C3). 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”), big brown trout (100 fish of 12”) and huge rainbow trout (100 fish of 22”), which yields about 3 large trout per acre. Norton Pond offers one of the best odds of catching a 4.0 – 5.0 lbs rainbow trout in that part of the state during the 2013 ice fishing season!
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Sanborn Pond covers 98 acres and is located alongside Route 137 in Brooks (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 14 A3). 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 (100 fish of 12” and 15 fish of 23”), 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 experiences on any of the ponds presented above.
