Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4, Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (November 8, 2023)

 

 

Don’t forget to fill out the permit form available at the little wooden kiosk by the parking lot.

 

Otter Pond #4 is a 6-acre body of water located in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Map and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for information on how to reach this pond. Make sure to follow those directions because you will pass several ponds on the way in, only two of which contain brook trout (i.e., Otter Ponds #2 and #4). Also, do not forget to fill out the short permit form provided at the little wooden kiosk by the parking lot, and leave a copy on your vehicle’s dashboard. It takes less than a minute to provide the requested information and provides a way for the Sebago Lake Land Preserve to keep track of day usage on their property. The parking lot is regularly checked by the preserve people and non-abiders will receive a kind warning to fill out the form (I know…).

 

Continue reading

Fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4 in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (October 29, 2021)

 

 

Otter Pond #4 is small and pretty

 

Otter Pond #4, a.k.a. Snake Pond, is a small, 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. Beware that you’ll pass several other ponds on your way in which are not stocked. Make sure to follow the directions to get to the designated target.

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

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.

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

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

View Map

 

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 in mid-October 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.

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

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

View Map

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.

 

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Ice fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4 in Standish, Maine (December 18, 2017)

View Map

General view of the back end of Otter Pond #4

 

Otter Pond #4 (a.k.a. Snake Pond) is a 6-acre body of water located in Standish, Cumberland County, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for details on how to reach this location and click here for a depth map. Keep in mind that the land surrounding the Otter Ponds belongs to the Portland Water District (PWD) and that access is by permit only. The triplicate permit form is available from a small kiosk by the parking lot off Route 35. Place one completed copy in the slot by the kiosk, one on the dash board of your car, and one in your pocket. I talked to a PWD security person who was checking the permits when I returned to my car today and asked him why they bothered with this system at all. He explained that PWD needs to submit an annual report to the state and the federal government on the use of this land since it is located right next to the Sebago Lake public drinking water intake facility. The permit system allows PWD to perform this task efficiently. Also, people who don’t fill out a permit receive a written warning. Repeat offenders are banned from using the parking lot. So, make sure to follow the rules.

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Ice fishing for brook trout on Otter Pond #4, Standish, Maine (December 18, 2016)

View Map

We’re not the only ones interested in ice fishing the Otter Ponds this morning!!

Otter Pond #4 (a.k.a. Snake Pond) covers 6 acres and is located in Standish, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for directions and here for a depth map. This blog identifies this small body of water as a top brook trout destination in Cumberland County for the 2017 ice fishing season. Both Otter Pond #4, and its larger sibling Otter Pond #2, are popular early ice fishing destinations in this part of southern Maine. The ponds reliably freeze over in December due to their small sizes and are also densely stocked with brook trout each fall. They represent the typical “put-and-take” winter trout fishery where the action is red-hot for the first three or four weeks of the hard-water season but then slows down considerably as more and more of the stocked brookies are harvested for the dinner table.

 

 

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove

Ice fishing for trout on Otter Pond #4, Standish, Maine (January 19, 2014)

View Map

General view of Otter Pond #4

General view of Otter Pond #4

Otter Pond #4 (a.k.a. Snake Pond) covers 6 acres and is located off Route 35 in Standish, Cumberland County (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 D1). Click here for a depth map and more fisheries information. This small body of water is an extremely popular brook trout ice fishing destination in southern Maine. To access this pond, park your car on the small gravel parking lot next to the road bridge over the old railroad tracks. Walk down to the tracks, turn left, and walk for about 10 minutes. You’ll pass Otter Pond #1 (a.k.a. Half Moon Pond) on the right, Otter Pond # 3 on the left, quickly followed by Otter Pond #2 on your right. Get off the tracks and walk to the left around a wooded knoll. Otter #4 will soon appear on your left.

 

 

 

 

Continue reading

Digiprove seal Copyright protected by Digiprove