Etna Pond is a 361-acre body of water located in Etna, Penobscot County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 22 B3). The public access is found on the western side of the pond. From Route 143 (Lankins Road), look for mailbox #88 next to the Penobscot Valley Calvary Chapel. Turn onto Town Landing Road and drive for 0.3 miles straight to the boat launch. The ramp is improved and can accommodate large boats. Plenty of parking is available.
View of the boat ramp with Etna Pond in the background.
Etna Pond is pretty, and surrounded by a wooded, lightly-developed shoreline. It supports a year-round warm-water fishery (e.g., perch, bass, pickerel) and a seasonal “put-and-take” brook trout fishery. The trout are stocked annually in the fall to support fall and winter fishing. Any trout remaining at the end of the hard-water season can be caught in the spring but are not expected to survive the following summer. The reason is that this lake is really shallow (mean depth = 6 ft.; maximum depth = 12 ft.), does not form a thermocline in the summer, and experiences a severe oxygen deficiency near the bottom during the warmer months. Note that, because of these limiting local conditions, this kind of fishery typically does not have brook trout in the fall until after the pond has been stocked. The general fishing laws for the South Zone apply at this location, with no specific restrictions during the fall season, i.e., all legal fishing methods can be used during this period, and the bag limit on brook trout is two fish measuring a minimum of 6 inches. Click here for a depth map and additional fisheries information.
The pond is so cold that this largemouth bass could not jump out of the water during the fight. Notice the exposed shoreline due to the low water level.
I arrive at the boat launch of Etna Pond at 7 am and have about two hours to make something happen. The weather is totally to my liking: air temperature in the high 40’s but scheduled to rise into the high 50’s later in the day, and mostly overcast with a gentle breeze blowing in from the north west. I notice that the water level is quite low due to the ongoing extreme drought conditions that prevail across the region. I don my waders and grab my weapon of choice for this kind of shore-focused fishing: an ultralight fishing rod, a small spinning reel spooled with 6-pound monofilament, and a marvelous #2 Mepps spinner. I cut one hook from the treble and flatten the barb on one of the two remaining hooks to minimize damage to the fish. The light fishing line also allows me to cast the lure way out in search of my quarry. I enter the water at the launch and start moving to the left. The wading conditions on both sides of the ramp are suboptimal: the bottom is mostly firm and gains depth slowly but is covered by annoying boulders that need to be respected to avoid slipping and sliding. Fortunately, most of the aquatic vegetation has died down. I cast out the spinner and let it sink for a few seconds before bringing in the line. I constantly twitch the rod tip during the retrieve to cause the blade to randomly flutter in the hope of provoking a reaction strike.
This brookie is the only one I was able to coax out of Etna Pond this morning. But it is a sight to behold!
The action on Etna Pond this morning is slow. During the first hour of fishing, I hook and land a gorgeous, hard-fighting male brook trout of respectable size, and a largemouth bass that was struggling to jump out of the cold water. I am excited about the former but disappointed that I cannot locate any other of its siblings. I do see several tentative rises a bit further offshore and decide to check them out using my canoe, which I always bring with me to deal with such a situation. I remove my waders, put the canoe in the water, and paddle out. I anchor the boat, make five casts with the spinner, and move on to the next spot if I have no action. I catch a second largemouth bass on the spinner but cannot find the trout. My time is quickly running out, and I need to up my game to increase the odds of catching another brookie. In desperation, I replace the spinner with a small trout spoon, add three split shots on the line above the lure, cast out the spoon, and troll along the western shoreline. I paddle for another 20 minutes but have nothing to show for my efforts. I call it good at 9:15 am, disappointed with the overall results but glad not to leave skunked. I had the place all to myself this morning, and greatly enjoyed my time in and on the water. Life is good indeed!
The results: I caught one brook trout in two hours of slooow fishing.
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Tight Lines, y’all.
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