Beaver Pond is a 20-acre body of water located in Township D, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 18 B4). Access to this pond is super easy because it is found right next to Route 17 which funnels traffic to and from the town of Rangeley 10-12 miles further north. In fact, this road hugs the entire northern shoreline of the pond. The launch is unimproved and down a steep gravely slope and can only accommodate hand-carried craft. A spacious parking area is available off the road next to the launch.

A pretty view of Beaver Pond from the public access point by Route 17

Beaver Pond is a pretty brook trout pond surrounded by forested hills covered in resplendent fall colors. The shoreline is completely undeveloped, except for one seasonal cabin by Route 17 next to the launch. The pond is stocked each fall with 1,900 7-inch brookies, yielding a very attractive stocking density of 95 (small) fish per acre. Angling occurs under the general fishing laws applicable to the north zone, with the following exceptions: a) the pond is open to ice fishing and open-water fishing from January 1 to December 31, b) the use or possession of live baitfish and smelt is allowed, and c) between October 1 and November 30, only artificial lures can be used, and all trout have to be released at once. The pond has an average and maximum depth of 5 ft. and 19 ft., respectively, and is therefore quite shallow. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.

Bright blue skies and emerging fall colors make for a nice visual combination…

My 14-year-old grandson Geovani (“G”) and I arrive at the launch at 10:45 am and push off in the canoe 15 minutes later. We are enjoying fine early-fall weather with full sunshine and an air temperature in the mid-60’s. However, we are pestered by a nasty little breeze which blows in from different directions. The surface water is a cool 60°F, which is about right for this time of the year. The water also has a distinct brown color more associated with marshes and wetlands. We paddle to the right of the launch looking for shallower water and quickly discover that this entire half of the pond is indeed shallow (i.e., 5 ft or less) but also overgrown by aquatic vegetation. Fishing is impossible because our hooks would be constantly fouled with plants. The only option is to head to the other side of the pond and fish by the deep “bowl” shown on the depth map. If it was up to me, I would troll around the edge of this bowl using small trout spoons (click here, here, and here for examples), but G complains of lower back pains and does not want to paddle. Instead, I anchor the canoe in 8 ft. of water when we reach the target area, and we start spinner fishing and fly fishing along the edges of the vegetation (all the shallow areas around the bowl are chocking with aquatic plants).

Unfortunately, that is the only brookie we were able to coax out of Beaver Pond this morning…

We use an ultralight spinning rod with a small reel spooled with six-pound monofilament line teamed up with a #2 Mepps spinner, and a four-weight fly rod with floating line teamed up with a wooly bugger to which is attached a small bead-head emerger fly. We expect great things from Beaver Pond but then… nothing happens. We have zero results after 2 hours of non-stop fishing at four different locations along the edges of the bowl: not a bite or a nibble or a rise. It looks like this water has no trout! I have lost G at this point. In desperation, I anchor the canoe in 12 ft. of water, cast the spinner towards the deep end, let it sink towards the bottom, and slowly retrieve the lure in the hope of dredging up a fish from lower down. I finally get a bite and tussle with a pretty 12-inch male brookie in full spawning colors. The creature gets netted, photographed, and released. That gives me renewed hope as I continue using this tactic, but it is all for nought. In the end, I remove the anchor and let the wind drift us across the deep part of the pond while jigging with a spoon. Nothing happens and it is time to give up and move on. Overall, the fishing this morning was rather disappointing even though the setting was pretty. Also, keep in mind that the traffic along Route 17 prevents a true quiet angling experience.

The results: I caught one 12-inch brookie and G got skunked in 3 hours of frustrating fishing.

Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions. Also, feel free to discuss your fishing experiences at this location.

~ ~ ~ ~ ><« ({(« º >