Tag Archives: brown trout

Fishing for brown trout on Sand Pond in Litchfield, Maine (September 22, 2018)

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The boat launch on Woodbury Pond is spacious and can accommodate big boats.

 

Sand Pond covers 177 acres and is located in Litchfield, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 D3). This pond does not have its own hard-top public boat launch. The closest one is located at the northern end of Woodbury Pond, which is connected to Sand Pond via a wide underpass over which runs Routes 9 and 126. That public access point can be reached as follows: while driving north on Hallowell Road, turn left on Hardscrabble Road and make an immediate left on Whippoorwill Road. Drive 0.3 miles on this road until you see the blue public access sign to your left. The boat launch is clean, spacious and well-maintained. It provides plenty of parking and also access to a convenient porta potty.
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Fishing for brown trout on Horne Pond in Limington, Maine (September 16, 2018)

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The sign to the boat launch on Horne Pond is clearly marked at the entrance by North Road

Horne Pond (a.k.a Pequawket Lake) covers 166 acres and is located in Limington, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 D4). The public boat launch can be reached by turning onto Moy Mo Da Yo Road (I swear I didn’t make that name up!), which is the first dirt road on the right side of North Road about 400 ft after you turn onto it from Route 25. The turn-off on North Road is clearly indicated by a large green sign. Drive for another half a mile or so on this dirt road and follow the directions for the boat launch. The launch is hard-topped and can accommodate substantial boats. Ample parking is available nearby.
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Fishing for brown trout on Hancock Pond in Denmark, Maine (September 15, 2018)

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The morning fog is lifting as the sun is about to emerge over Hancock Pond

Hancock Pond covers 858 acres and straddles the boundary between the towns of Sebago and Denmark in Cumberland County and Oxford County, respectively (see The Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B3 and 4). The public access is located along the eastern shoreline at the intersection of Hancock Pond Road and Wabunaki Road. The boat launch is hard-topped and can accommodate large motorized craft. Ample parking is available on Hancock Pond Road behind the large white electrical switch boxes across from the entrance to the launch. This pond, one of many in southern Maine which are stocked annually with brown trout, is known to grow some serious fish. Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. I have it on good authority that 6++ pound brown trout behemoths swim around this body of water… This species is hardier than our native brook trout and also does better in the presence of other competing fish species, which is why browns are stocked in “marginal” brook trout waters. However, they are weary creatures and are less likely than brookies to grab artificial lures like spoons. I take advantage of the fact that I can still use live bait before the seasonal rule change on October 1, when only artificial lures are allowed in southern Maine.
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Fishing for brown trout on the Kennebec River in Madison, Maine (June 16, 2018)

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A pretty view of the section of the Kennebec River I’m fishing today. The boat launch on the opposite bank is just visible at the top of the picture

The Kennebec River flowing through downtown Madison and Anson in Somerset County (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 20 B4) is held back by the Anson and Abnaki dams, before it becomes free-flowing again. It is the free-flowing stretch of the river below the most downstream of these two dams (i.e., the Abenaki Dam) which is the focus of my attention this afternoon. I access the Madison side of the river by driving north on Route 201A into Madison. About half a mile before reaching downtown, I turn left unto Father Rasle Road, cross the unused railroad tracks, and park my car on the sandy shoulder. The river is flowing to my right down a steep slope. My goal is to drop down to the river, wade upstream, and fish for about half a mile up to the hydroelectric dam.

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Ice fishing for brown trout on Pettingill Pond in Windham, Maine (February 10, 2018)

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The public access point to Pettingill Pond is unobstrusive and unmarked.

Pettingill Pond covers 42 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 on Anglers Road at the traffic light just past Bob’s Seafood Restaurant. Go down that road for 0.4 miles and look for house number 48. The access point will be to your left immediately past that house (and across from house #51). It is not indicated by any signs. You have gone too far if you reach Mud Pond Road. Note that the local homeowners frown on people parking their vehicles on Anglers Road, which is quite narrow, twisty, and busy. You can either leave your vehicle by the public access point itself (it will accommodate two or three cars, but no more) or park it on a large plowed area located about 0.1 mile on Anglers Road after the turn-off from Route 302. Note that it may be a problem to pull a sled to the public access point for 0.3 miles if all the snow has been cleared from Anglers Road. I also suspect that this latter parking location may not be available for much longer because I saw a “for sale” sign next to it on my way in this morning.

 

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Brook trout and brown trout fishing on the Medomak River in Waldoboro, Maine (May 13, 2017)

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The first half mile of the river downstream of the bridge is swift and rather shallow

The lower reach of the Medomak River flows from Medomak Pond through Waldoboro township (Lincoln County) before it becomes a tidal river downstream of the town of Waldoboro itself. I’m fishing this river because it is one of a select few in southern Maine which was stocked in the spring of 2017 with 13” to 14” one-pound trout. Most of the other streams in the region receive the smaller 9” to 10” trout. Also, because of the larger size of the river, there’s always the chance for catching a bigger holdover fish from last year or the year before. My target for exploration today is the 1.5-mile stretch that runs parallel to Route 32 (Winslow Mills Road) and Wagner Bridge Road (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 13E5), located about three miles upstream from Waldoboro.

 

 

 

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Ice fishing for brown trout and largemouth bass on Little Sebago Lake, Gray, Maine (February 5, 2017)

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The boys with the toys have more fun!

Little Sebago Lake covers 1,898 acres and is located in Gray and Windham, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C3). The public access point is reached by driving north on Route 302 in Windham, turning right at the light (by Bob’s Seafood Restaurant) on Anglers Road, driving past Pettingill Pond, turning right on Woodland Road, and then turning right again on Mount Hunger Shore Road. Follow this road until you reach the boat launch. My son Joel and I decide to bring out the “side-by-side” vehicle and our two four-wheelers to give us mobility to bring his family and I out on the lake. We want to fish the south-facing shore of Ridgewood Island, located amongst a set of islands on the largest of the four bays that make up this beautiful lake.

 

 

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Best ice fishing ponds for catching lunker trout in Maine during the winter of 2017

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The state releases part of its trout brood stock every fall to create some real and unexpected excitement on the ice. In most cases, though, too few of these huge fish are present such that catching one of them falls into the category of plain-old luck. In a few select ponds, however, enough of these fish were released in the fall of 2016 that it would make sense to target them specifically.

For this blog, I define a “lunker trout” as measuring 18” or more. Such a fish would weigh between 3.0 and 5.0 lbs depending on its size, which would make anyone’s ice fishing day! I also defined the minimum stocking density where it becomes worthwhile to target these hogs as 0.4 fish per acre of pond. This value represents the average stocking density for landlocked salmon throughout Maine.

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Rainbow trout and brown trout fishing on Kennebunk Pond, Lyman, Maine (December 3, 2016)

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The boat launch on Kennebunk Pond is unimproved and sandy.

The “boat launch” on Kennebunk Pond is unimproved and sandy.

Kennebunk Pond is a 224-acre body of water located in Lyman, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 B5). A rough and sandy public boat launch is located off Kennebunk Pond Road at the outlet on the eastern side of the pond. Ample parking is available across from the launch. Be aware that this launch is quite shallow, particularly in the fall when the water level in the pond is low. In my opinion, only hand-carried craft or small motor boats can effectively be put in and retrieved from this spot in late fall. Anything bigger would be problematic, and would require a 4X4 vehicle. This pond was stocked last month with a total of 641 brown trout, rainbow trout and brook trout measuring between 12” and 15”. Our goal this morning is to catch some of those fish.

 

 

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Brown trout fishing on the Saco River, Buxton, Maine (October 8, 2016)

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Fall is in the air and trout fishing is back on the agenda!!

Fall is in the air and trout fishing is back on the agenda!!

The Saco River in this part of southern Maine passes through a series of hydroelectric dams on its way to the sea. My target today is a small stretch of river right below the West Buxton dam located in Buxton (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 A5). The reason for selecting this section of water is that it was stocked last week with brown trout and also has flowing water coming through the dam turbines. I’d love for my 13-year old nephew Christian to catch one of those fish. The access point is located off Route 112 (River Road) just below the green bridge that carries the road over the river. Keep in mind that only hand-carried craft can be launched from this point.

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