View of Spencer Pond from the put-in.
Spencer Pond is a 15-acre body of water located in Township D, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 18 B4). To get to the public access point, drive on Route 17 until you reach a well-maintained gravel road that leads towards the pond (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map for the exact location). Drive for 0.6 miles down this road before turning right on another good gravel road and driving for an additional 0.2 miles up to a locked gate. Park your vehicle, walk for about 200 ft. passed the gate, and turn right by the “trail” marker down a short foot path through the woods that leads to the pond. Only hand-carried craft can be launched from this location. Beware that the access point by the pond is rather soft, wet, and marshy.
This first brookie took the emerger the instant it hit the water!
Spencer Pond is a gorgeous little brook trout pond surrounded by forested hills covered in resplendent fall colors. The shoreline is completely undeveloped, except for one seasonal cabin. The pond is stocked each fall with about 1,000 yearling brookies, yielding a very respectable 65 fish per acre. Angling occurs under the general fishing laws applicable to the north zone, with the following restrictions: a) the pond is closed to ice fishing, b) only fly fishing is allowed (that includes no trolling), c) the daily bag limit on brook trout is two fish with a minimum length of 10 inches and only one kept fish may exceed 12 inches, and d) the pond is open to open-water fishing from October 1 to November 30 using fly fishing only and with the stipulation that all brook trout caught must be released at once. The pond has an average and maximum depth of 8 ft. and 30 ft., respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.
The brookies are pretty but they have no size to them.
My 14-year-old grandson Geovani (“G”) and I arrive at the locked gate, haul our gear and my canoe to the launch on Spencer Pond, and start fishing at 11 am. It is a beautiful early fall day with full sunshine, air temps in the low 70’s, and a light breeze blowing from various directions. The surface water is a cool 60°F. We paddle towards the western corner of the pond to stay out of the breeze and anchor in 10 ft. of water so that we can cast towards the shore which is lined with aquatic vegetation. We both use a wooly bugger (one is white and the other is green). The presentation is enhanced by attaching a small beadhead emerger to the hook of the bugger by a foot of monofilament line. This combination of flies does us no good because we have nothing to show for our efforts one hour later. We also see no feeding activity on the surface. Where are all the trout hiding?? We paddle to the northern end of the pond and fish the vegetation line over there using the same flies but to no avail.
G is done and it is time to leave this gorgeous pond…
I have lost G at this point. He is bored and his lower back is bothering him. We paddle back towards the launch but I am not ready to call it quits yet. I release the anchor in about 6 ft. of water no more than 100 ft. from the put in. I need to do something different if I want to leave this place with my dignity intact. I swap out the wooly bugger/beadhead emerger that has done nothing for me and replace it with an elk hair caddisfly/beadhead emerger combination. I use the dry fly as a “bobber” to keep the emerger a foot below the surface. I cast out. The dry fly has been on the water for literally less than one second when it disappears below the surface. I immediately set the hook and finally catch my first brookie. It is a little 8 incher. I must have cast my offerings right on top of the trout! I fish in the same location for one hour and land another five brookies, four on the emerger and one on the “bobber”. All are little 6 to 8 inchers. At least I found the trout. This kind of angling is fun but I am underwhelmed by the diminutive size of the fish… I am certain that larger brook trout lurk in this pond but have to be content with what I caught because the time has come to move on. I definitely recommend visiting this place if only because it is gorgeous and peaceful.
The results: I caught six small brook trout (largest = 8 inches) in 2.5 hours of fishing. G got skunked.
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