View of Otter Pond #4 from the beach. The best fishing is from the shore on the right-hand side of this picture.
Otter Pond #4, a.k.a. Snake Pond, is a 6-acre body of water located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this pond. My blog readers have asked me about locations in southern and central Maine that can be wader fished from shore in the fall without the need for a boat. This spot is one of many. We are actually old acquaintances, having met numerous times before (click here and here for examples). It is heavily stocked with brook trout in mid-October each fall in anticipation of the busy ice-fishing season. Fortunately for us, this little gem is available for open-water fishing between October 1 and November 30 using artificial lures only and with the stipulation that all trout caught must be released at once. Click here for more details on the fishing rules. Click here for a depth map.
Neither one of these #2 Mepps spinners was of any interest to the brook trout today…
The best way to fish Otter Pond #4 in the fall is to go down to the small beach at the southern end (by the picnic tables) in hip boots or waders and then fish the sandy shoreline in front of you and to the right all the way to the opposite end of the pond. Do not bother with the left side because that half of the shoreline is steep and brushy, which makes it nearly impossible to cast from the bank. Another trick is to cast your lure multiple times in the same general location. The brookies are in a spawning frenzy this time of year and are chasing each other and building their nests in 4 to 7 ft of water along the shoreline. My experience is that a lure as to pass multiple times in their immediate vicinity before it irks them enough that they slam it to get it out of their way. Also, it is a good idea to count to 5 or 6 (one thousand one, one thousand two, etc.) before starting the retrieval when fishing from shore. This extra time allows the lure to sink down closer to the bottom where the trout are busy with their reproductive shenanigans. Fishing too high in the water column this time a year will decrease the catch rate.
This brookie immediately fell for the bronze-colored spinner. Finally!
I arrive at the Otter Pond #4 sandy beach by 11:30 am. It’s a delightful late-October morning with partial sunshine, air temperatures in the mid-50’s, and a light northwest breeze. We are well past peak for leaf peeping, but the trees still have enough leaves to give the place some color, which is a nice touch. The surrounding area is actually quite busy this morning, with people chatting, biking, walking, and horseback riding in the nice weather. But, as is typically the case in the fall, the water front is all mine! I’m fishing with my ultra-light spinning rod, small spinning reel spooled with 6-pound test monofilament line, and a silver #2 Mepps spinner. Note that I always cut one of the three hooks off the treble hook in order to make it easier and less damaging to remove a hooked fish. Don’t worry, two hooks are plenty to do the job!
Those colors…
I spend the next hour and a half casting my spinner all along that shoreline to the right of the beach and only succeed in generating two hits and a miniscule largemouth bass… I changed my silver spinner midway for a “psychedelic”-colored one, which has worked well for me in the past, but to no avail. Boy, this is really frustrating. I walk back to the beach and change my spinner for a bronze-colored one. I make my very first cast with it… and hook and land a 13” male brookie in bright colors! Ah, ah! These picky fish down there want something duller instead of too flashy or colored. Who knew?? I’m finally hitting my strides. I have to make multiple casts but I catch 5 more brookies over the next hour or so. One fish stands out by his absolutely gorgeous and brilliant spawning colors, and his fat belly. The last fish is a 15” trout which gives me a splendid fight, with multiple runs and strong pulls. Fishing does not get much better than this!!
This fish fought long and hard! What a treat.
The results: I caught six brook trout (largest = 15”) in 2.5 hours of fun fishing.
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did really well on a red mepps thunderbug in there last year. first time i had used them ,the trout loved them.