View of Lufkin Pond from the rough access point.
Lufkin Pond is a 47-acre body of water located in Phillips, Franklin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 19 A2). To access this pond, turn on Lufkin Pond Road from Route 4 (Rangeley Road) in Phillips, and drive down this gravel road for 1.7 miles to the northern tip of the pond. A 4X4 vehicle is not needed to drive on this road, which is popular with four wheelers and side-by-siders. However, beware that Lufkin Pond Road has several splits and intersections, which confused the heck out of me and had me driving in wrong directions several times. Some of those side roads are also rather rough… I used my phone’s GPS to turn back, when needed, and make sure that I kept moving towards the pond. I would have gotten lost without this tool… The access point is unimproved, and can only accommodate muscle-powered craft.
This first splake tells me that I am fishing in the right place, using the right lures, and at the right depth!
Lufkin Pond is a semi-remote water body with minimal development along its shoreline. The pond is embedded in a hilly, fully-forested landscape. I found this gem using my proven search approach. The following features attract me to this location: a) the pond is stocked annually with around 350-400 juvenile splake and also occasionally with 100 brown trout, for an average stocking density of up to 10 splake per acre per year, which is extremely generous, b) the pond is open to ice fishing but can only be reached by snowmobile because Lufkin Pond Road remains unplowed, which reduces the winter take, c) the daily limit on splake is two fish which further limits the take, and d) the lack of a hard-top boat launch restricts the open-water angling pressure. Taken together, I suspect that many of the fish stocked in previous years are still available to be caught. Click here for the full fishing rules. The pond has a mean and maximum depth of 12 ft. and 28 ft., respectively, making it relatively shallow. Click here for a depth map and (dated) fisheries information. Of note, rainbow smelt are reported to be present in the pond. While preparing for this trip, I check the water quality data provided in lakesofmaine.org to determine the depth of the thermocline, its temperature, and dissolved oxygen status. Unfortunately, no data are available. I’m assuming that the surface water temperature is in the low 70’s at this point in early summer, and that the salmonids are swimming 15 to 20 ft. below the surface. I print out the depth map before leaving home and circle the (roughly) 23 ft. depth contour, which shows the presence of an irregularly-shaped, deep bowl in the center of the pond. That way, I waste no time finding my target area after I arrive.
It just never gets old!!
I reach Lufkin Pond by 7 am, which is 40 minutes later than anticipated due to the confusion while driving in. It is a gorgeous morning: wind still, partly cloudy, and an air temperature at 59°F, forecast to rise in the high 70’s later today. I launch the canoe, check the surface water temperature, and am surprised to read 67°F. That is lower than expected, and falls within the (upper) temperature tolerance for splake and brown trout. It means that the fish are likely swimming and feeding higher up in the water column than I anticipated. I am trolling using lead core line and three small (1.75-inch long), smelt-imitating Mooselook spoons tied one to the other. I position myself above the “bowl” and put out two and a half colors, which places the lures about 13-15 ft. deep. There is no need to go deeper given the cool surface water temperature. I start paddling in a big circle in the middle of the pond while using my portable depth finder to ensure that I stay over 20+ ft. of water. I get two hits – and a hookup – in the first 10 minutes of trolling. Wow, that’s fantastic! The fish fights hard and takes several strong runs. This is so much fun!! It turns out to be an 18.5-inch splake. Boy, these fish have so much raw power.
This brown trout is sweet icing on my morning cake 🙂
I am pumped! But this is only the beginning. Over the next 50 minutes, I hook five more fish, and net three of them. All three are splake, measuring between 15 and 19 inches. The last of these five hookups is a much, much bigger fish than the previous four. OMG, what did I catch? This one also fights low and hard, but it refuses to come to the surface. The fish has been circling angrily below the canoe for several minutes when suddenly … ping… the hook comes out of its mouth and the creature disappears. NOOO!! I never saw it, but suspect a 4+ pound brown trout… I am dejected, but continue trolling. Unfortunately, the bite has stopped entirely. Same circuit, same lures, same depth as before, but the fish are done feeding in response to the rising sun. This pattern is so predictable when trolling early in the morning. I spend another hour paddling around and around without a single bite, when I suddenly get a strong hookup. Yes! This one is a biggun too and puts up a spirited fight. It turns out to be a fat, well-fed 19-inch brown trout. Wow, what a way to end the morning. By now, my butt hurts, a breeze has come up, and I’m satisfied. I call it good, but wonder how many more trout I might have caught if I had started fishing 40 minutes earlier…
I like trolling with smaller, downsized lures because they really work!
The results: I caught four splake (largest = 18.5 inches) and a 19-inch brown trout in 2 hours of incredible action.
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Tight Lines, y’all.
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