Ice fishing for smallmouth bass on Trickey Pond in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (March 21, 2021)

 

 

Trickey Pond is a 311-acre body of water located in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). The pond is easily accessible via a high-quality public boat launch located at its southern tip off Route 114. Plenty of parking is available next to the launch. Be aware that the paved access road between Route 114 and the pond is quite steep. Also, it is not necessarily plowed and can be icy or even impassible during the winter months. That is not an issue this morning because the warmer temperatures of the last couple of days have done a good job melting much of the snow and ice on the pavement. In fact, even though it is 26°F when I arrive, the temperature is supposed to soar into the low 60’s by early afternoon. The forecast also calls for unlimited sunshine.

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Ice fishing for smallmouth bass on Panther Pond in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (March 18, 2021)

 

 

The lake is accessed via permissive trespass through this open gate.

 

Panther Pond is a 1,439-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). Access to the main basin of the lake during the ice-fishing season is via permissive trespass through a small private beach associated with Slovenski Camp. To gain access via this entry point, drive north on Route 121 (Meadow Road) towards the town of Casco and turn right on David Plummer Road (look for the discrete Slovenski Camp sign). Drive down that road for about 600 ft. Beware that this road may be slippery in the winter. The open gate to the beach will be on your left. Drive up further for another 50-100 ft. and park your car in the available open space.

 

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4, Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (January 23, 2021)

 

 

The Otter Ponds are a highly-popular early season ice fishing destination. Do not be the last one in!

 

Otter Pond #4 is a small 6-acre body of water located in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this fishing hole. My original target for this morning was actually Parker Pond in Lyman, York County. I got out of bed at an ungodly hour in order to start fishing 30 minutes before sunrise. When I stepped on the ice, I was astounded to discover that it was only 0.5″ thick! It was clear that much of Parker Pond had thawed recently in response to the warm weather and rain of last week. That is insane considering that we are deep in January and should be walking on up to one foot of ice at this point in the season… So, instead, I drive to Otter Pond #4 which has a much smaller surface area and is more likely to have safe ice.

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (January 3, 2021)

 

 

The place is buzzing with activity this morning!

 

Chaffin Pond is an 13-acre body of water located in downtown Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). The pond is embedded in the Donnabeth Lipman Park, right next to the Sherwin Williams paint store off Route 302 in the business district. Click here for directions. Plenty of parking is available.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Upper Hinkley Pond in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine (November 21, 2020)

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General view of Upper Hinkley Pond. The retaining wall and the dam are all the way in the background. We fished the shoreline shown on the right-hand side in this picture.

 

Upper Hinkley Pond is a small, 3-acre shallow reservoir formed by the impoundment of Kimball Brook. It is found in Hinkley Park off Highland Avenue in South Portland, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 3 A4 or map 73 G4). This beautiful little pond is located only 10 minutes from downtown Portland! The park offers ample parking. Keep in mind that Hinkley Park is a popular area for local people to walk their dogs and that some of their canines may pay you a visit. Beware also that the first pond you encounter when entering the park is Lower Hinkley Pond. This body of water is set aside for “kids only” fishing and therefore cannot be fished by anglers over 16 years old. Just walk uphill for a couple of minutes and the upper pond will soon emerge.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on the Pleasant River in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (October 20, 2020)

 

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.

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Crystal Lake, Gray, Cumberland County, Maine (October 18, 2020)

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It is a wind-still morning and all’s quiet…

 

Crystal Lake (a.k.a. Dry Pond) is a 189-acre body of water located in Gray, Cumberland County (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B3). Access is via the excellent hard-top public boat launch located at the southern tip of the lake by Mayberry Road (off North Raymond Road) next to the town-owned Wilkies Beach. Plenty of parking is available across the road from the launch.

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Long Lake, Naples, Maine (May 3, 2020)

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The sign for the boat launch in downtown Naples off Route 302. Beware that this access is reserved for Naples residents.

 

Long Lake is a 4,867-acre body of water located in the towns of Naples, Bridgton, and Harisson in Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 A5). I access the lake this morning via the Naples town beach and boat launch at Kent’s Landing in downtown Naples, right off Route 302. It is only after I take a picture of the sign by Route 302 and read its fine print that I realize this access is in fact not public but available for use only by “Naples residents and taxpayers”… No one was checking when I arrived at 5:15 this morning and the entrance is not gated, so I do not know how vigorously this rule is enforced during normal operating hours. Two other boat launches are available: one at Plummer Landing in Bridgton off Route 302, and the other at the northern tip of the lake off Route 35 in Harrison. The launch at Kent’s Landing in Naples is spacious and improved, and provides ample parking, plus bathroom facilities.

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Fishing for splake on Trickey Pond, Naples, Maine (April 24, 2020)

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Trickey Pond has a nice hard-top boat launch

 

Trickey Pond is a 311-acre body of water located in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). Public access is through a high-quality boat launch located right off Route 114 at the southern end of the pond. Ample parking is available. The pond and I are old acquaintances. I have ice fished it multiple times over the last 25 years (click here and here for recent examples) on account of its high-quality salmon, splake, and smallmouth bass fishery. In fact, I have caught my largest landlocked salmon (5.5 pounds) and splake (4.5 pounds) through the ice out of this pond. However, beware that even though the quality of the fish is high, the quantity is extremely low… One definitely has to put in the time to decipher this little gem and earn the right to land a fish.

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Ice fishing for brown trout on Pettingill Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (January 6, 2020)

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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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