Tag Archives: Cumberland County

Ice fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (December 23, 2019)

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Chaffin Pond is a pretty 13-acre body of water located in Windham, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). Access is super-easy! Drive on Route 302 north into Windham, pass the Home Depot sign (Franklin Drive) and take the next right on Chaffin Pond Reserve Drive (Donnabeth Lippman Park) just before the Sherman Williams store. Our target is a couple of 100 ft down that ruddy dirt road. Ample parking is available. The pond and its surrounding woods once belonged to the Portland Water District which prevented any development (except for a few groundwater pump houses). The area is now a well-used municipal park where young and old come to picnic, walk the many trails, use the playground, or fish, literally smack in the middle of Windham’s busy business district!

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Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #2 in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (November 7, 2019)

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Those colors…!

 

Otter Pond #2 is a 12-acre body of water located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this pond. Her and I are old acquaintances, having met many times over the years in the spring, fall, and winter. This pond is heavily stocked with brook trout each fall in anticipation of the busy ice-fishing season. Earlier this fall, the state released 600 8” brookies (= 50 trout per acre) and 130 13” brookies (= 11 trout per acre), which add up to a lot of fish! Those bigger fish are the ones calling me in. It is high time that I pay a visit and check out the place before it starts freezing over.

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Fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Cumberland County, Maine (November 1, 2019)

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The first brookie of the morning. I’m on to something!

 

Chaffin Pond is a pretty 13-acre body of water located in Windham, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). Access is super-easy! Drive on Route 302 north into Windham, pass the Home Depot sign (Franklin Drive) and take the next right on Chaffin Pond Reserve Drive (Donnabeth Lippman Park) just before the Sherman Williams store. Our target is a couple of 100 ft down that ruddy dirt road. Ample parking is available. The pond and its surrounding woods once belonged to the Portland Water District which prevented any development (except for a few groundwater pump houses). The area is now a well-used municipal park where young and old come to picnic, walk the many trails, use the playground, or fish, literally smack in the middle of Windham’s busy business district!

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Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4 in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (October 26, 2019)

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View of Otter Pond #4 from the beach. The best fishing is from the shore on the right-hand side of this picture.

 

Otter Pond #4, a.k.a. Snake Pond, is a 6-acre body of water located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions on how to reach this pond. My blog readers have asked me about locations in southern and central Maine that can be wader fished from shore in the fall without the need for a boat. This spot is one of many. We are actually old acquaintances, having met numerous times before (click here and here for examples). It is heavily stocked with brook trout each fall in anticipation of the busy ice-fishing season. Fortunately for us, this little gem is available for open-water fishing between October 1 and November 30 using artificial lures only and with the stipulation that all trout caught must be released at once. Click here for more details on the fishing rules. Click here for a depth map.

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Ice fishing for smallmouth bass and largemouth bass on Panther Pond, Raymond, Maine (February 23, 2019)

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It’s crisp and cold this morning. Time to rise and start ice fishing!

 

It’s the annual winter school vacation, so it’s high time to go camping and fishing with the kids… on the ice! My son Joel and I are eager to make it a success because this will be a new experience for his two boys. The goal is to find a spot on a local lake where we can drive up, pitch the family tent, and be reasonably assured of catching quality fish to keep the two boys engaged and entertained. Previous fishing experiences on Panther Pond in Raymond, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2) has shown us that this body of water supports a serious smallmouth and largemouth bass population of braggin’-size fish (click here, here, and here for examples). My son Joel and I are putting that information to good use.

 

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Ice fishing for white perch on Panther Pond, Raymond, Maine (February 2, 2019)

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Panther Pond is a 1,439 acre body of water located in Raymond, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). One way to reach the ice is to turn right on Meadow Road (Route 121) from Main Street in Raymond (off Route 302, a.k.a. Roosevelt Trail), drive north for 0.5 miles before turning right unto Giselle Lane. Park your vehicle on the side of this road. A short snowmobile trail leads directly to the pond.

Panther Pond is filled with large schools of voracious white perch

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Ice fishing for brook trout on Chaffin Pond in Windham, Maine (December 15, 2018)

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Antony proudly shows off his fish

 

Chaffin Pond is a pretty 13-acre body of water located in Windham, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 C2). Access is super-easy! Drive on Route 302 north in downtown Windham, pass the Home Depot sign (Franklin Drive) and take the next right on Chaffin Pond Reserve Drive (Donnabeth Lippman Park) just before the Sherman Williams store. The pond is a couple of 100 ft down the road. Ample parking is available.

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Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4 in Standish, Maine (November 9, 2018)

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Aaahh, that rising sun feels so good on my numb fingers!

 

The tree leaves have all changed colors and dropped to the ground, the nights are getting decidedly colder, and winter feels like it’s just around the corner. Yet, it would be foolish to stow away the rods and reels because open-water fishing opportunities are still beckoning all over southern Maine for those willing to put in the effort! In fact, it never ceases to amaze me that we have access to a smorgasbord of fishing locations in the fall which remain largely unused. Most everyone else stops going out once it gets colder, which means that we essentially have all the hot fishing spots entirely to ourselves! That, of course, is perfectly fine with me. My blog readers have asked me in the past about locations that can be fished for trout in the fall using waders and without the need for a boat or fancy electronics. Otter Pond #4 is one of those spots.

 

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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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Ice fishing for smallmouth bass and splake on Trickey Pond in Naples, Maine (March 31, 2018)

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A bright and sunny, but windy, early-spring day on Trickey Pond

Trickey Pond covers 311 acres and is located in Naples, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 B5). I have fished it on multiple occasions in the past for smallmouth bass and splake. I also know from several reliable sources that this relatively small body of water grows serious landlocked Atlantic salmon in the 6- to 8-pound range! The reason I like to visit Trickey Pond towards the end of the ice fishing season is that its ice is always thick and safe, even when the hard water on other ponds in southern Maine is no longer reliable. Besides, there’s always the chance of catching a real bragging fish here! Keep in mind though that this pond has a well-deserved reputation of only grudgingly offering up its scaly denizens. So, be ready to put in time to learn its secrets if you are unfamiliar with its layout.

 

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