I’m so glad that I pinpoint the school of brook trout in a matter of minutes!
Flying Pond is a 360-acre body of water located in the town of Vienna, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 20 E3). The public access point is located next to busy Route 41 (Pond Road) and consists of a hardtop boat launch with ample parking available along the shoulder of the road.
An important perk of fall fishing for brookies is admiring the beautiful spawning colors of a male.
Flying Pond is one of dozens of ponds and lakes nestled in the hilly Belgrade Lakes region west of Waterville. This well-developed and pretty body of water has a long and convoluted shoreline, and its northern half is sprinkled with wooded islands. It supports a popular “two-story” fishery consisting of three salmonid species as well as smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. The state lightly stocks this pond each fall with brown trout, landlocked Atlantic salmon, and brook trout in preparation for the ice-fishing season. The 350 13-inch (about one pound) brook trout released earlier this fall are my target this morning. Fishing on this water body falls under the general fishing laws for the south zone, except that anglers can only use artificial lures between October 1 and December 31, and all salmonids caught during that period must be released alive at once. The pond has a mean and maximum depth of 27 ft. and 80 ft, respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.
Caught and released!
I arrive at the Flying Pond boat launch a little after 8 am. The air temperature is a cool 45°F and a biting wind blows in from the northwest. The weather forecast calls for sunny but breezy conditions, with temperatures only climbing into the mid-50’s. I don my waders and layer up to stay warm. Darn, I forgot my cut-off gloves to keep my fingers warm… My goal this morning is to catch brook trout from shore using my waders and ultra-light spinning rod.
That is the last and largest fish I caught this morning. My fingers are numb and it is time to call it good.
I enter the water by the boat launch, wade past the emergent aquatic vegetation on the right, and start casting out my #2 Mepps spinner in 6 to 8 ft of water. I cut off the third hook of the treble and flattened the barb on one of the two remaining hooks to facilitate lure removal and minimize damage to the fish. My boots sink 2 to 6 inches into the soft substrate, which is a pain. However, I get a hit on the second cast and a hookup on the third! No way, I already caught a brook trout! I bring in the struggling fish, take a picture, and quickly release the creature back to the water. I catch another seven brookies over the next 45 minutes. I am having a blast catching and releasing fat, one-pound brookies but the breeze is doing a job on my hands. My wet fingers are turning numb from the cold and I cannot warm them up without my gloves. I call it good after 45 minutes, fully satisfied with this morning experience. As always in the fall, I had the place all to myself and also enjoyed leaf peeping on my drive and during fishing. What is there not to like?
The results: I caught 8 brook trout (largest = 14 inches) in 45 minutes of fast and furious, but cold, fishing.
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