Category Archives: Bass

Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Penobscot River in Greenbush, Penobscot County, Maine (June 27, 2021)

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Antony’s first-ever river smallie! We celebrated this catch to loud acclaim!

 

The central portion of the Penobscot River flowing between Orono (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 23 A3) and Medway (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 43 B5) is considered a premier smallmouth bass fishery in the state of Maine, on par with the choiciest locations on the Androscoggin River (click here, here, here, here, and here for examples). The focus of my attention this afternoon is on a section of water flowing through the town of Greenbush. The river in these parts meanders past a dozen or so large wooded sandy islands, which create interesting and diverse habitats that attract large numbers of smallmouth bass.

 

I’m not finding the depth we need to catch larger fish…

 

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Ice fishing for smallmouth bass on Trickey Pond in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (March 21, 2021)

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Trickey Pond is a 311-acre body of water located in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). The pond is easily accessible via a high-quality public boat launch located at its southern tip off Route 114. Plenty of parking is available next to the launch. Be aware that the paved access road between Route 114 and the pond is quite steep. Also, it is not necessarily plowed and can be icy or even impassible during the winter months. That is not an issue this morning because the warmer temperatures of the last couple of days have done a good job melting much of the snow and ice on the pavement. In fact, even though it is 26°F when I arrive, the temperature is supposed to soar into the low 60’s by early afternoon. The forecast also calls for unlimited sunshine.

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Ice fishing for smallmouth bass on Panther Pond in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (March 18, 2021)

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The lake is accessed via permissive trespass through this open gate.

 

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). Access to the main basin of the lake during the ice-fishing season is via permissive trespass through a small private beach associated with Slovenski Camp. To gain access via this entry point, drive north on Route 121 (Meadow Road) towards the town of Casco and turn right on David Plummer Road (look for the discrete Slovenski Camp sign). Drive down that road for about 600 ft. Beware that this road may be slippery in the winter. The open gate to the beach will be on your left. Drive up further for another 50-100 ft. and park your car in the available open space.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (August 22, 2020)

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The boat launch for our trip is located in the shadow of the historic “Two-Penny Foot Bridge” at the Head of Falls municipal park in Waterville. The dam is about 0.5 mile upstream to the left.

 

For today’s expedition, my grandson Geovani and I are fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River at the dam located upstream of the Ticonic Falls dam in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 76 [Waterville/Winslow] B2). This spot can only be accessed by putting in a canoe or kayak at the foot of the historic “Two-Cent Footbridge” (also known as the Ticonic Footbridge) located at the Head of Falls municipal park off Front Street in downtown Waterville Keep in mind that this launch is not accessible to trailered boats. The dam is about half a mile further upstream. I fished this spot last year and enjoyed the action and the setting. I hope to repeat that earlier experience today with my grandson.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine (August 8, 2020)

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I caught this little guy by the tail. How does that even happen??

 

I am taking Geovani, my 11-year old grandson, out fishing this morning. I want to make sure that he catches plenty of scaly creatures to keep him interested and engaged. So, we are going to check out the smallmouth bass fishing on the Kennebec River in the shadow of the Shawmut Dam located in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 21 D3). I checked this location out last year and did well. I hope to emulate that success this time around. To reach this spot, drive north out of Fairfield on Route 201 (Skowhegan Road) and turn right on Kennebec Street. Drive all the way down towards the dam and power station located across the railroad tracks. A blue boat-launch sign will direct you to the right through an open yellow gate towards the water. Keep in mind that only canoes and kayaks can be launched from this spot due to the shallow water and strong current.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass in the Androscoggin River, Jay, Maine (August 1, 2020)

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The bite is slow and the bass are rather small, but Gwovani has a good time. Note the turbine house to the left, and the dam to the right.

The target of my fishing efforts today is the Androscoggin River flowing just below the Riley Dam Power Plant in Jay, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 19 E5). To reach the public access point to the river, drive north into Jay on Route 4/17 and then turn left on Route 140. Drive for exactly 3.2 miles on this road until you reach the unnamed turn-off to the put-in for Riley Dam. That location is clearly marked by a blue sign next to the road. Plenty of parking is available. Keep in mind that this put-in can only accommodate canoes or kayaks as it lacks an actual boat launch.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin River, Durham, Maine (June 27, 2020)

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The water level is so low that launching a trailered boat becomes a challenge…

 

The lower two-thirds of the Androscoggin River flowing through Maine supports a tremendous smallmouth bass fishery (click here, here, here, here, and here for examples). We’ve come a long way since the 1960’s when this stretch of river was an abused and neglected stinking open sewer, contaminated by untreated papermill effluent and municipal sewage. Following the Androscoggin’s re-birth after the passage of the Clean Water Act in the early 1970’s, Maine’s people have discovered its tremendous recreational potential, turning the river into a regional paddling and angling destination. Residual contaminant levels in fish tissue greatly limits the number of smallmouth bass that are harvested annually. As a result, most recreational anglers practice catch-and-release, myself included, resulting in a robust bronzeback fishery. Keep in mind that this stretch of the river also contains serious northern pike. Although I am not specifically targeting these fish today, I have caught them in the past in this general location as an accidental “bycatch”, which is always fun.

 

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Ice fishing for brown trout on Pettingill Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (January 6, 2020)

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Pettingill Pond covers 36 acres and is located in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). The public access to this body of water can be tricky to find under the snow in the winter. While driving on Route 302 in Windham (direction Raymond and Naples, i.e., north), turn right at the light on Anglers Road just past Bob’s Seafood Restaurant, go down that ruddy road for about 0.4 miles and look for house number 48. The small unmarked dirt public access point will be to your left immediately past that house (and across from house #51). You have gone too far if you reach Mud Pond Road. Note that Anglers Road is narrow, twisty, and trafficky. No vehicles can be parked on it. Route 302 is the only readily-available place to leave your car in that area.

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Fishing for lake trout on Kezar Lake in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (October 19, 2019)

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I just love the way the rising sun “paints” the surrounding landscape.

 

Kezar Lake is a 2,510-acre body of water located in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D2). To reach this location, drive north on Route 5 past Lovell and turn left on West Stoneham Road. Drive on this road for about 500 ft and look for the large blue boat-launch sign. After passing the sign, turn left on North Lovell Landing Road and drive about a quarter mile all the way down to the lake. The boat launch, which is located at the north end of Upper Bay, is spacious and provides lots of parking area. The launch itself is not improved but can accommodate large boats. In fact, the lake residents use it to put in and take out their pontoon boats. I note for the record that a second boat launch is located further south, by the Narrows on West Lovell Road, between Middle and Lower Bay. I don’t use that launch today because I aim to catch lake trout and landlocked salmon which are more abundant in the deeper Upper Bay.

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Fishing for brown trout on Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (October 12, 2019)

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The boat launch is unimproved, steep, and gravelly…

 

Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). To reach this location, drive on Route 27 north (towards Belgrade), turn left on Summerhaven Road, go for about 0.6 miles before turning left on Baxter Drive, drive for about 0.2 miles and turn right on Community Drive. The southern lobe of the pond will soon appear on your right. The public boat launch consists of loose gravel and is otherwise unimproved, but can accommodate small trailered boats. However, keep in mind that the launch is fairly steep; I had to use four-wheel drive to pull my boat up the wet and gravelly incline on my way out. In addition, the water by the launch is rather shallow, which requires backing into the lake a fair bit before the boat will float off. I also had to put on my hip boots to manually guide my boat back on the trailer on account of the shallow depth by the launch. Parking space is limited on Community Drive and occurs along the side of the road next to the launch.

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