Look for this trail sign next to pole 282 to turn off Pumpkinville Road towards the gate.
Long Pond is a 58-acre body of water located in Sullivan, Hancock County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 24 E4). From Route 1, turn on Pumpkinville Road next to Sumner Memorial High School, and drive for about 1.5 miles down that road (I forgot to measure the exact distance). The access point will be on your left, down an unmarked road. Look for an electrical pole at the turn-off with a dark blue sign and the number 282. Next to that pole is a discrete wooden sign for “Long Ledges Preserve” and “East Side Trail”. Drive down that road for a couple of 100 ft. until you reach a closed metal gate. Leave your vehicle parked by the gate and walk for 5 minutes down a well-maintained gravel road until you reach the pond. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from the access point which consists of flat slabs of rock.
The end of the road. The pond is about 5 minutes walking down this well-maintained service road.
I use my proven technique to identify Long Pond as a promising fishing target. This body of water is the public drinking water source for the towns of Sullivan and Sorrento. It sits on property owned by the Long Pond Water District and is embedded in a beautiful nature preserve. The lake is spring-fed and its waters are crystal clear. The shoreline is totally undeveloped and forested. It is also rocky and bouldery, with one section consisting of a vertical cliff. This place is gorgeous and a real find! Each fall, the State releases about 950 7-to-8-inch brookies, yielding a respectable annual stocking density of about 16 fish per acre. Access and fishing are strictly regulated because of its special status as a drinking water source. Angling occurs under the general fishing laws applicable to the South Zone, with the following restrictions: a) closed to ice fishing, b) closed to open-water fishing between October 1 and March 31, c) artificial lures only, and d) the daily bag limit on brook trout is 1 fish, with a minimum length limit of 14 inches. The pond is relatively deep, with a mean and maximum depth of 21 ft. and 57 ft., respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.
Long Pond is a gorgeous, remote-feeling spot!
My buddy Travis and I arrive at the closed gate by 2 pm. We unload our gear and carry the canoe down the service road towards Long Pond. It’s a beautiful late spring day, with partially overcast skies, a stiff breeze, and a muggy-feeling temperature in the low 70’s. The mosquitoes are also thirsty this afternoon! We reach the shore and admire the surrounding landscape when I suddenly realize that we forgot to bring the fishing net. Damn! We do not want to take the chance of catching a substantial trout and being unable to land it safely. So, I bite the bullet and run back and forth to the truck to fetch this important piece of equipment. The original goal was to fly fish using dry flies, but the persistent wind nixes those plans. Besides, we see no flies or rises on the surface. Instead, I will troll using lead core line and two small one and a quarter inch ACME Thunderbolt spoons tied back-to-back and placed two colors down (about 12-14 ft. below the surface). Travis will troll with a sinking fly-fishing line and a small spoon, while also casting a small spinner while we move downwind, and he can skip paddling.
Unfortunately, this is the only brookie we were able to coax out of Long Pond this afternoon.
We start by first moving upwind all the way to the southern tip of Long Pond before deploying our fishing arsenal and slowly trolling our way down towards the northern tip by the outlet. I get one hookup by a small trout but the fish escapes after struggling for a few seconds. That is a pity but nonetheless a good sign! I also get my spoons stuck on several occasions on sunken boulder fields that occur close to the shoreline. Those are trout magnets! Fortunately, it is easy to retrieve stuck lures when fishing from a canoe. We turn around by the outlet and paddle our way back upwind. That does take more effort. We hear a distant rumble and notice that the sky is clouding up with an approaching thunderstorm. We have gotten no action by the time we reach the southern tip but turn around for one more pass. I get a substantial hit and hookup about midway down the pond. OMG, this is a bigger fish! The creature struggles hard down below and ultimately unhooks, again…. You have got to be kidding me! That was the 14+ incher we were aiming for… I get a third hookup 10 minutes later and this time the fish does not escape, but it is only a little 11-incher. Well, at least I am not skunked. The sky has become menacing, and we decide not to take any foolish chances with the weather. We call it good and paddle back to the put in, glad to have discovered a little slice of fishing heaven. This beautiful location is definitely worth the effort of coming back and spending more time unlocking its fishy secrets.
The results: I landed 1 brookie (11 inches) whereas Travis was skunked.
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.
Tight Lines, y’all.
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