Savade Pond is a 42-acre body of water located in Windsor, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13 C3). To reach this pond, drive down Greeley Road, and turn into Greeley’s Landing Road by the blue boat launch sign. Pass the yellow gate, which it is locked during mud season in the spring, and drive for several 100 ft. until you reach the access point at the end. It consists of a hard-top boat launch and includes a surprising amount of parking space given the small size of the pond.
Wow, what a spectacular morning on Savade Pond! The large marsh by the outlet is to the left of this picture.
Savade Pond is pretty and totally undeveloped but for one discrete house at its eastern tip. The shoreline is entirely wooded, except for an expansive marshy area by the outlet to the left of the boat launch. The large amount of decaying vegetation associated with that wetland has turned the water into the color of weak tea. The pond was stocked earlier this fall with 300 13-inch brook trout in anticipation of the upcoming ice fishing season. Those creatures are the focus of my attention this morning. Angling at this location occurs under the general fishing laws for the South Zone with no specific restrictions related to fall fishing. The pond has a mean and maximum depth of 21 ft. and 52 ft., respectively, making it a relatively deep body of water given its small size. Click here for a depth map and more fishing information.
It took a lot of work this morning and during two previous unsuccessful fishing trips to Savade Pond to finally nail a brookie!
I arrive at Savade Pond by 8 am. Maine is enjoying a spectacular autumn day, with full sunshine, no wind, and temperatures forecast to rise into to high 70’s. I ice fished this location in 2017 with limited success and also discovered that catching brook trout in the fall is a pain in my neck! I attempted to fish here in my waders two years ago but was unsuccessful. It is nearly impossible to wade along the shoreline close to the boat launch because the bottom is soft, it gets deep fast, and much of the shoreline is choked with lily pads which constantly foul a lure. I returned in October of last year with my canoe to troll away from the shoreline but was equally unproductive. I discovered then one possible reason for why the brookies appeared to be absent: instead of remaining shallow, the bottom very quickly drops down to 15-20 ft. within casting distance from the launch. I suspect that the trout simply scatter after their release and do not re-congregate.
I hooked this second trout 10 minutes later in the same general vicinity as the first fish. Note the boat launch in the top left corner of the picture.
I don my waders upon arrival at Savade Pond, place myself in the water at the end of launch, and start casting my trusted #2 Mepps spinner using my ultralight spinning rod, just to check things out. As expected, I fail to get a nibble after 15 minutes and confirm that the trout are definitely not in front of the boat launch. But I do see several rises further out. I launch my canoe and start chasing those rises. That approach proves fruitless because the occasional fish at the surface are few and far apart. It takes me several minutes of vigorous paddling to reach the general area of a rise, by which time the trout is long gone. I need to change tactics again: I swap out the spinner for a small spoon, add four split shots 3 ft. in front of the lure, and start trolling in the vicinity of rises. That ought to work, right? The trout think otherwise and I am still fishless 30 minutes later. This situation is frustrating but I am resolved not to leave Savade Pond skunked for a third time in a row! As a last resort, I bring the canoe close to the outer edge of the lily pads by the launch, release the anchor in about 12 to 15 ft. of water, and start casting around with the Mepps spinner. My new thinking is that most of the trout, except for those that are rising farther offshore, are more onshore. Nothing happens for 15 minutes until I see a large swirl within casting distance from the canoe. Aha! I quickly toss the spinner towards the rise, immediately start the retrieve to prevent the lure from sinking down and get my first hookup five seconds later. Finally, and none too soon either! I fight a tenacious 14-inch brookie, which gets photographed and released. I am re-energized and continue casting the spinner in the same general vicinity. The fish gods reward my perseverance with a second brookie of the same size. By now, I have been fishing for one and a half hour and call it good. I caught two brookies but it took a lot of work, multiple visits, several tactical changes, and raw perseverance to get that meager result. But I finally cracked this tough nut. I conclude that Savade Pond, given its unusual physical layout, only yields its trout very reluctantly in the fall! And that is reason enough to go out there and test one’s angling skills!
The results: I caught two 14-inch brookies in 1.5 hours of hard fishing.
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.
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