Burnt Meadow Pond is a pretty 69-acre body of water located next to Route 160 in Brownfield, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B2). The public access is via a hard-top boat launch located at the southern tip of the pond right off Route 160. Ample parking space is available by the launch.
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Everything is fogged in this morning but the trout are biting!
Hall Pond is a 51-acre body of water located next to Halls Pond Road (off Route 119, a.k.a. Hebron Road) in Paris, Oxford County (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 D2). Access to the water is directly from quiet Halls Pond Road. Vehicles can be parked along the road shoulder. This small pond serves as the sole public water supply for the Hebron Water Company which provides drinking water to the surrounding community. As a result, the town has promulgated a restrictive ordnance to protect the quality of the surface water, including no bodily contact, no ice shacks, and no use of internal combustion engines (including ice augers). I am checking out this pond this morning as part of my efforts to identify, and blog about, locations where one can catch trout in the fall while wader fishing from shore without the need of a boat or other specialized equipment.
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Pretty and peaceful…
The Pleasant River is a relatively short river which meanders through the towns of Grey and Windham. It joins the Presumpscot River in South Windham, Cumberland County (The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D2). An easy access point is from the bridge on Pope Road (off Routes 4/202). Up to three vehicles can be parked next to the road at that location. I personally like to fish from the bridge all the way up to the Route 302 overpass located about 1.5 miles further upstream. The surrounding woods are surprisingly thick (with local exceptions, including a large cow pasture further upstream), considering that this river flows through a densely-populated area of southern Maine, including behind the Windham high school. I have always been surprised by how few people fish this stretch of water in the fall, although the place does get busy on weekends in the spring.
Copyright protected by DigiproveI spend the long July the 4th weekend camping with family members at the Glenn Ellis Family Campground located right off Route 302 in Glenn, NH (see the New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer map 45 G9). This well-maintained and well-organized campground sits on the beautiful Saco River. I brought my fishing equipment in order to catch some of the numerous trout that live in its waters. I fished this waterbody during our camping trip last year, and I’m ready to explore, and blog about, other sections.
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The passageway underneath Range Hill Road. Middle Range Pond is visible in the background.
Middle Range Pond is a 366-acre body of water located in Poland, Androscoggin County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A3). This pond is the second of the three interconnected Range Pond chain-of-lakes (i.e., upper, middle, and lower). The middle and upper ponds actually share a public boat launch which is located off Range Hill Road, at the downstream end of upper pond. A narrow passage underneath this road allows boats to access middle pond. Plenty of parking is available at the launch site. Note that the stretch of water between this passageway and Middle Range Pond extends for about a third of a mile, is really shallow (1-2 ft deep), and overgrown with aquatic vegetation later on in the season. It is actually a great spot for catching largemouth bass in May and June, but that is not why I’m here for today.
Copyright protected by DigiproveKalers Pond covers 87 acres and is located in Waldoboro, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13 E4). Drive east on Route 1 and turn left on Kalers Pond Road by the Dow Furniture store (look for the green store sign next to Route 1) about 1.5 miles before downtown Waldoboro. Note that Kalers Pond Road is privately owned, although it is not posted as such. Access to the pond is via permissive trespass over this road. I notice several hand-made signs pointing anglers in the direction of the access point. The road is unplowed past the last sign, which also requests that anglers park their vehicles at a plowed parking area across from the furniture store by Route 1. It takes less than 10 minutes to walk from the parking area by the store to the last sign, and another 2 minutes from this sign to the pond. I urge everyone to respect the wishes of the local property owners and follow the rules in order to keep access to this pond open and available to the general public far into the future.
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Pettingill Pond covers 36 acres and is located in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). The public access to this body of water can be tricky to find under the snow in the winter. While driving on Route 302 in Windham (direction Raymond and Naples, i.e., north), turn right at the light on Anglers Road just past Bob’s Seafood Restaurant, go down that ruddy road for about 0.4 miles and look for house number 48. The small unmarked dirt public access point will be to your left immediately past that house (and across from house #51). You have gone too far if you reach Mud Pond Road. Note that Anglers Road is narrow, twisty, and trafficky. No vehicles can be parked on it. Route 302 is the only readily-available place to leave your car in that area.
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The boat launch is unimproved, steep, and gravelly…
Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). To reach this location, drive on Route 27 north (towards Belgrade), turn left on Summerhaven Road, go for about 0.6 miles before turning left on Baxter Drive, drive for about 0.2 miles and turn right on Community Drive. The southern lobe of the pond will soon appear on your right. The public boat launch consists of loose gravel and is otherwise unimproved, but can accommodate small trailered boats. However, keep in mind that the launch is fairly steep; I had to use four-wheel drive to pull my boat up the wet and gravelly incline on my way out. In addition, the water by the launch is rather shallow, which requires backing into the lake a fair bit before the boat will float off. I also had to put on my hip boots to manually guide my boat back on the trailer on account of the shallow depth by the launch. Parking space is limited on Community Drive and occurs along the side of the road next to the launch.
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View of the sandy boat launch. The picture does not do justice to the wind howling down the length of the pond.
Biscay Pond is a 377-acre body of water located in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 A4). To reach this location, drive on Route 1 into downtown Damariscotta, turn onto Biscay Road (by the McDonald’s restaurant), and drive down that road for about 2.5 miles. The pond will appear on your right. The boat launch is sandy and unimproved, but can accommodate large trailered boats. The biggest challenge with this launch is its shallowness, which requires backing your vehicle quite a way into the water before the boat will float. I’m very glad I brought my Jeep and hip boots! Ample parking is available along Biscay Road.
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The railroad tracks (upper left) run on top of the embankment which plunges into the Saco River.
I spend the long July the 4th weekend camping with family members at the Glen Ellis Family Campground located right off Route 302 in Glen, NH (see the New Hampshire Atlas and Gazetteer map 45 G9). This well-maintained and well-organized campground sits at the confluence of the Ellis River with the much larger Saco River. I brought my ultralight spinning rod and my flyfishing rod in the hope of catching some trout, although I still have to figure out a good fishing spot close to camp. That location becomes obvious when we rent tubes from the campground to float the Saco River from our camp site all the way to North Conway (the trip takes up to 5 hours, covers about 8 miles, and requires a “return” car). The Conway Scenic Railroad tracks run right along the river bank just downstream of where the Ellis River flows into the Saco River. I suspect, as I look down into the water column when floating by on my tube, that the river along that bank holds trout because it is quite deep (I’m guessing 8+ ft in some spots) and filled with large boulders. The best part is that this choicy spot is an easy 10-minute walk from the campground. From the fresh, but not too cold, feel of the water during our tubing adventure, I’m guessing that the water temperature is in the high 60’s. I note for the record that the Conway Scenic Railroad is a local tourist attraction. Hence, the train only operates during the day and moves at a snail’s pace. It is therefore safe to fish from that embankment.
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