The trail to Grassy Pond is easy and pretty.
My 16-year-old nephew Matt flew in from away to spend time in Maine learning how to fish. He expressed an interest in catching native brook trout after hearing some of my tall tales on the subject. But where can a novice angler go to catch native brookies in early August?? I need to find a place where a) the water temperature stays cool enough in the summer to draw trout to the surface, b) these trout can be caught using artificial lures (not fly fishing), and c) proper lure presentation is optional (not stream fishing). I settle on Grassy Pond in Baxter State Park (BSP). This 26-acre water body is found right off the Appalachian Trail about 1 mile south of the Katahdin Stream campground off the Park Tote Road (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 50 D4). Access is via a well-marked trail that starts at the parking area on the Tote Road. It takes about 20 minutes of easy walking to reach this destination. Note that the pond does not fall under the “special fishing laws”, meaning that it can be fished under the “general fishing laws” which are less restrictive.
That is one heck of a view!!
Grassy Pond would not seem like a good candidate for catching brookies on the surface in high summer… The pond is no more than 4 ft. deep and is overgrown with submerged and emergent aquatic vegetation during the warmer months. How can such unpromising habitat, more suitable for pickerel and sunfish, possibly support a year-round population of native brookies? The secret lies in the source of its water, which is supplied directly by Katahdin Stream. This ice-cold brook, which originates on the slopes of mighty Mount Katahdin, enters the north end of the pond, and exits it to the southeast. The stream keeps the surface water in the pond cool and oxygenated throughout the summer. Also, the abundant aquatic vegetation and soft bottom serves as a hyper-active bug factory to feed all the hungry trout.
Small but native and beautiful.
Matt and I arrive at the access point on Grassy Pond at 5:30 pm after a quick walk through the woods. To our great and pleasant surprise, we are not attacked by hordes of blood-thirsty mosquitos. In fact, none are present, which is strange given the wet and rainy summer we have endured so far. On the other hand, we are greeted by a STUNNING view at our arrival, consisting of half a dozen mountain peaks stretching across the entire canvass of the horizon. Holy smokes, what a sight to behold! Before walking in, we obtained the keys from the ranger at the Katahdin Stream campground to unlock one of the two BSP canoes that are stored by the access point. By the way, there is really no way to properly fish this pond from shore. Hence, make sure to get the keys so you can paddle out and be comfortable. Besides, at 1$ per hour (honor system), this rental fee is the best deal in town!
Matt just caught his first brookie ever. The smile says it all.
The sun is beginning to set as we paddle out, but the breeze has not died down yet. I also see no rises… I am fishing with a 4-weight fly fishing rod using two dry flies: one is a “zebra fly” which imitates a mosquito, and the second one, which is attached to the first one by 1 ft of monofilament, is a small elk-hair fly which imitates a caddisfly. Matt fishes with an ultralight spinning rod and a small gold #1 Mepps spinner. Nothing happens for the first 30 minutes or so. I am starting to doubt my decision to drive all the way to BSP…. The wind dies down as the sun continues to set and we finally observe a few tentative rises. Then I get a hit and immediately set the hook on a 7-inch brook trout. Great, it looks like we are finally on to something. I catch another five diminutive brookies over the next 45 minutes or so, all on the mosquito fly. Matt is starting to despair because he has only gotten a few tentative nibbles and has snagged lots of aquatic plants with his treble hook. I swap out his gold spinner for a black one, just to try something new. And that does the trick! He finally lands his first brookie ever, followed by two more soon after. I also catch another three brookies on a small Mickey Fin streamer fly fished just below the surface. It is now 8 pm and getting dark fast. As expected, the bite slows down and then stops altogether. It is time to call it good. I am so glad that we experienced the anticipated action because it makes this trip a success. Even though all the brookies measured between 6 and 9 inches, that is pretty much the general expectation for Grassy Pond. We return to shore, lock up the canoe, and walk back to the Tote Road in total darkness. Fortunately, I brought headlamps for the two of us 😊.
The brookies do not grow big in Grassy Pond but they are plentiful and eager to bite, even in summer.
The results: We landed 12 brookies (largest = 9 inches) in 2.5 hours of fun fishing.
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