Worthley Pond is a 354-acre body of water located in Peru, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 A3). The public access point is located on East Shore Road and is clearly indicated by a blue boat launch sign. This well-maintained hardtop launch is spacious and offers plenty of parking spaces. It also provides a convenient porter potty during open-water season.
The shallow launch is improved and offers plenty of parking spaces.
Worthley Pond is a well-developed lake surrounded by numerous forested hills situated just south of the Androscoggin River. The state sustains a popular regional salmonid fishery via a light annual stocking of rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout. I successfully fished this lake last fall in waders and last winter through the ice. My goal today is to see if I can also catch salmonids while trolling… Using this fishing technique in the middle of summer might seem counter intuitive but is based on sound reasoning. This lake, like most deep-water bodies throughout the state, develops a thermocline in the summer that physically separates the warm surface water from the cool and denser bottom water. The lake also grows too much phytoplankton (i.e., algae) due to excessive nutrient runoff from the surrounding watershed. That plant material dies off, sinks to the bottom, and is digested by bacteria living in the sediment. This process consumes much of the dissolved oxygen in the lower, cold-water layer which cannot be replaced by the oxygen-rich but warmer water above. The reason is that the thermocline acts like a strong barrier that prevents any mixing between these two water layers until it breaks down in the fall.
Trout need cool and oxygenated water during the summer. They can find those two conditions only in one sweet spot, namely right at the thermocline! A review of the temperature and dissolved oxygen data collected from this lake in the past – and available at Lakes of Maine – shows that the thermocline occurs about 25 ft deep in mid-summer. In other words, the trout are forced to seek refuge by that narrow layer of water because the water above it is well-oxygenated but too warm and the water below it is cool but oxygen-deficient. Target the thermocline and thou shall find the trout! Angling on Worthely Pond during spring and summer occurs under the general fishing laws. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.
The morning is peaceful and the surface is quiet, but the fish are not very active…
I arrive at the Worthley Pond public launch by 6 am and put-put away 15 minutes later eager to do some trout catching. Beware that the launch is shallow and requires the driver to back into the lake a little ways to float or retrieve a boat. I bring my hip boots for the occasion. The water level is not an issue today because of the wet summer we have experienced so far. The air is fresh (56°F) but pleasant, with no wind and a blue sky. The surface water is a cool 73°F. I place two sets of lures 25 ft deep, namely my eight-weight fly fishing rod with lead-core line (always my favorite when trolling!) teamed up with three smelt-imitating double-hook streamer flies tied back-to-back, and my downrigger teamed up with my medium-action rod and three DB Smelt spoons also tied back-to-back using monofilament. I always hold the fly rod in my hand and constantly rip the line to cause the flies below to move erratically and attract attention from potential customers.
But this brown trout makes it all worthwhile!
I start trolling in the lobe across from the launch. I have been at it for no more than 20 minutes when I get a tremendous hit on the flies. God, I LOVE that feeling!! There is nothing subtle about it: the fish slams the lure to prevent its “prey” from escaping and that action is instantly transmitted up the line through the rod and into your hand. I fight a substantial fish, gently wrestling it to the surface and giving out as much line as it requests. The fish finally gives up, gets netted, and reveals itself to be a fat and fit 21-inch brown trout. I am delighted, take a couple of bragging pictures, and quickly release the creature back to its watery world. I am pumped and ready for more action. But unfortunately, I do not get another hit over the next three hours… I swap out my flies and spoons, troll around in the other lobe of Worthley Pond, move closer to shore in <30 ft of water, and farther offshore in 40+ ft of water. But nothing gives. The lake residents have also started boating and creating wakes. The time has come to call it good. I am disappointed with the slow action but am nonetheless delighted to have caught that one gorgeous brown trout. I leave a satisfied angler.
The results: I caught one fat 21” brown trout in 3.5 hours of very slow fishing.
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