A gorgeous view of Jordan Pond from the boat launch
Jordan Pond covers 187 acres and is located inside Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island (MDI) in Hancock County, Maine (see The Atlas and Gazetteer map 16 C3). The pond is situated off the Park Loop Road. A huge parking lot with a clean bathroom is located at the southern tip of the pond to accommodate the many visitors who come to this spot to hike the multiple trails that criss-cross the area. Access to the pond is via a rough unimproved boat launch. Be aware that you’ll need a pass to legally park your car anywhere inside the Park. The pass can be purchased on-line or at the visitor center on MDI.
Jordan Pond is STUNNINGLY beautiful!!! It is framed by Penobscot Mountain to the west, the two “Bubbles” to the north, and Pemetic Mountain to the east. The surface water in this pond is some of the most transparent I’ve ever seen in the whole state of Maine. On a good day, the bottom can be seen 60 ft down! The substrate consists entirely of gravel, cobbles, and boulders. This glacial lake is also incredibly deep for its relatively small size, with a maximum and mean depth of 150 ft and 84 ft, respectively. More remarkably, the bottom quickly reaches 40 to 50 ft deep literally within spitting distance from shore. The glaciers did their job well when they carved out this basin! This peculiar situation presents a unique opportunity. A good hiking trail loops around the entire shoreline of the pond, plus the shore itself is largely unobstructed. Hence, in the spring when the temperature of the water is still cool (say, < 60ºF), it should be quite possible to fish for the resident salmon or lake trout by tossing a lure from shore without requiring a boat! Keep in mind, however, that those fish will seek cooler waters below the thermocline (>35 ft deep) by early- to mid-June and would therefore be harder to catch from shore. General fishing law applies on this waterbody but motorboats over 10 horsepower are prohibited. Click here for the full fishing regulations, particularly as they pertain to lake trout. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information.
I arrive at Jordan Pond at 7:15 am, about an hour behind schedule on account of oversleeping…. It is wind still this morning and I have the place all to myself, except for a few hardy hikers. I’m just enchanted by the beauty of the surrounding landscape. The boat launch is sandy and gravelly, but otherwise unimproved. I’m mighty glad to have brought my hip boots because the water by the launch is too shallow (I don’t have a four-wheel drive car) and I have to pull the boat off the trailer by hand. The water is a chilly 48ºF.
This guy definitely made my morning!
I deploy two trolling rods. The first rod fishes “passively” right below the surface of the water using three spoons tied to each other in tandem, with the line weighed down using a couple of large splitshots. The second rod has lead core line to which are attached three of my all-time favorite salmonid streamer flies, namely the Grey Ghost, the Governor Aiken, and the Winnipesaukee smelt imitator. I fish those flies “actively” two colors down by constantly ripping the line, causing the flies to move forward erratically. Over the years, I have learned that this method is quite effective at attracting strikes. I troll right next to the eastern shoreline over 40 to 60 ft of water. That entire shore is still deep in the shadows because the light from the rising sun is blocked by Pemetic Mountain. I get a hard hit on my lead core line after 25 minutes and see an angry salmon shoot right up into the air. Fantastic!! The fish gives me a spirited fight with several long runs before it is landed, measured (20”), photographed and released. However, my hopes that this fish heralds the beginning of a pattern are quickly dashed: I only get one more hit on my spoons, and that’s it. My wish to also hook a lake trout don’t come through. Regardless, I’m thrilled to have caught a nice salmon from this beautiful pond and leave the place one happy angler.
The results: I landed one 20” landlocked Atlantic salmon in 2.5 hours of trolling.
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