Snows Pond is at the end of this road.
Snows Pond is a 21-acre body of water located in Dover-Foxcroft, Piscataquis County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 32 B2). To reach this location, drive north towards Sebec Lake on Route 153 (Greeley’s Landing Road) from downtown Dover-Foxcroft for a mile or so and turn left on Snows Pond Road. Drive down that dirt road for 200-300 yards, and pass the Piscataquis Valey Snowmobile Club clubhouse until you reach the pond. I do not know if or how well Snows Pond Road is plowed in the winter. That is not an issue this morning because the ground is free of snow. Also, if the conditions allow it, you can drive your vehicle right up to the edge of the pond, set up your traps along the shoreline, and watch them from the comfort of your automobile!
View of Snows Pond from the dam by the outlet.
Snows Pond is a shallow impoundment infested with small pickerel and overgrown with aquatic vegetation in the summer. A lack of development along its shoreline gives it an attractive remote feel. This pond represents your typical “put and take” brook trout fishery, i.e., it is unable to support a year-round trout population because of competing species, lack of spawning habitat, and overheated water in the summer. But it provides adequate conditions during fall, winter, and spring to allow for a seasonal fishery maintained by annual stocking. Remember that such ponds are typically hit early and hard by the local ice fishing aficionados and are fished out in a matter of weeks. So, it is a good idea to visit them early to ensure success. The state released 100 13-inch brook trout in October, which yields a stocking density of five fish per acre, each weighing about one pound. That is not a ton of brookies but enough to pique my interest. The pond is open to ice fishing as soon as the ice is safe to walk on, the use of live baitfish is allowed, and the daily limit for brook trout is two fish. Click here for more information on the applicable regulations. The pond has a mean and maximum depth of 4 ft. and 8 ft., respectively. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries data. The shallow depth is a bonus given the relatively warm conditions of the last 10 days, and the several inches of rain that fell last week. I am looking for safe ice and a shallow pond will more easily provide those conditions early in the season.
Be ready to deal with these toothy critters…
I arrive at Snows Pond at 7:15 am and see two pickup trucks parked right up against the shoreline. Half a dozen people are keeping warm inside and watching their tip-ups spread all around in front of them. We greed each other and chat: the ice is a safe 6 inches thick, but the anglers have only caught two pickerel so far. I fetch my gear, put on my cleats, walk over glare ice to the other side of the pond across from the two trucks, and set up shop over there. The air temperature is a pleasant 36°F but a biting wind blowing in from the northwest generates a distinct windchill. The rising sun will provide little warmth later this morning. I drill four holes in water 3 ft. to 6 ft. deep and deploy four traps baited with small shiners placed about midway down the water column. A flag goes up when I set up the fourth trap. Great, that’s always a good sign. The line is slanted sideways when I reach the hole but is no longer coming off the spool. The baitfish is gone. I rebait and start drilling a dozen jigging holes all around the area. That one trap goes off again as I am auguring my holes. This time, the spool is turning, and I connect with a fish when I set the hook. I bring in a little pickerel. Ugh, I hope that I will catch more than those toothy critters which are of no interest to me…
The one and only bite on the jig this morning yields this brookie.
I start jigging using a tiny 1-inch yellow-orange colored airplane jig. I add an olfactory dimension to the lure by pinning a baitfish head to the back hook. I have been jigging for only a few minutes when I get a bite and a hookup, and tussle with a 13-inch brookie. Wonderful! I continue jigging with renewed hope but do not get another jig bite over the next hour. And I only generate one more flag which yields another small pickerel. Damn… I do experience a fantastic 30-minute feeding frenzy starting at 9:15 am when I get seven flags and land another four small pickerels. The flag activity is fun but does not generate the intended results. Then ALL action abruptly stops. I keep up with the jigging but generate no new customers. The fish are lockjawed. It is now 10:30 am, the sun is blazing high up in the sky, nothing is happening, and I am ready to call it good. I walk around gathering up my gear and pulling traps when the flag goes up on one of the two remaining deployed tip-ups. It must be another f#@&king pickerel. The spool is quickly spinning when I arrive. I do not hesitate and set the hook. I get an angry reaction at the other end and am mighty pleased to land a nice 14-inch brookie! Wow, I caught that one literally at the last minute. I leave a happy angler because I caught my limit (both released back to the water) and enjoyed my morning.
This brook trout is caught on the tip-up literally one minute before I was going to pull the trap!!
The results: I caught two brookies (largest = 14 inches) and half a dozen small pickerel in 3 hours of fun 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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