Tag Archives: smallmouth bass

Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Parker Pond in Fayette, Kennebec County, Maine (August 3, 2025)

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View of the boat launch. This picture does not do justice to the steepness of the short boat ramp!

 

Parker Pond covers1,524 acres and is located in Fayette, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 A2). The public access point, which is not shown in the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer, is located in the far northeastern corner of the lake, off Tower Road. This launch is horrible: narrow, short, very steep, and consisting of half asphalt-half flat boulders. It is clear from the numerous scratches in the asphalt that lots of trailers have been scraped going down and coming up the ramp. The water by the launch is also shallow, requiring to back up a little ways into the lake before the boat can float off the trailer. I would be cautious launching at this location without a four-wheel drive vehicle because it may be difficult to pull the boat out of the water and up the steep incline without the extra assist. Fortunately, Tower Road is only lightly traveled, which allows one to maneuver properly to get the boat in and out.

 

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Pennesseewassee Lake in Norway, Oxford County, Maine (July 15, 2025)

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The boat launch is spacious, and plenty of parking is available nearby.

 

Pennesseewassee Lake covers 922 acres and is located in Norway, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 11 D1). Access is through a high-quality public boat launch off Route 118. Coming in from Harrison, drive north on Route 117 all the way to the lake. Turn left at the stop sign on Route 118, go for 0.3 miles, and then turn right at the blue boat launch sign. The launch itself is spacious, and the nearby parking area can accommodate many vehicles.

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on Scraggly Lake, Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (May 7, 2025)

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View of the short and deep thoroughfare connecting Scraggly Lake to Junior Lake seen in the background.

 

Scraggly Lake is a 2,758-acre body of water located in Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 A2). The Gazetteer shows an unimproved public boat launch on Hasty Cove off the Amazon Road along the eastern shore of the lake. I do not know the quality of this launch nor how drivable the Amazon Road is during mud season. Feel free to let us know via the comment section below. Instead, I gain access using the public launch on Bottle Lake (see map 35 A1) which connects to Junior Lake via a 1.5-mile-long shallow thoroughfare called Bottle Lake Stream. I then cross Junior Lake and enter Scraggly Lake via a short but deep and wide thoroughfare. The Bottle Lake launch is found at the end of a paved road and remains fully accessible even during the worst of mud season in April and early May when the surrounding gravel roads may be impassable. Duck Lake (see map 45 E1) also has a boat launch which connects to Junior Lake via a 0.3-mile-long unnamed thoroughfare. I have not used this launch before but have motored up from Junior Lake into Duck Lake in early May without a problem. The shallow and bouldery thoroughfares from Bottle Lake and Duck Lake can easily accommodate motorized craft in early spring when water levels are high. However, beware that passage gets trickier later in the year when the water levels drop.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on Junior Lake, Lakeville, Penobscot County, Maine (May 5, 2025)

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The afternoon turns into a gorgeous and warm experience.

 

Junior Lake is a 3,866-acre body of water located in Lakeville and Pukakon Township, Penobscot County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 35 A1). This lake does not have a public boat launch. Instead, access is via two launches found on nearby Bottle Lake (see map 35 A1) and Duck Lake (see map 45 E1). The former is connected to Junior Lake via a 1.5-mile-long thoroughfare called Bottle Lake Stream. The latter is connected to Junior Lake via a 0.3-mile-long unnamed thoroughfare. I have used the Bottle Lake launch and not the other but have motored up from Junior Lake into Duck Lake without a problem. The Bottle Lake launch is located at the end of a paved road and is easily accessible even during the worst of mud season in late April and early May when the surrounding gravel roads may be impassable. The shallow and bouldery thoroughfares can easily accommodate motorized craft in early spring when water levels are high. However, beware that passage with an engine gets trickier later in the year when the water levels drop.

 

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Ice fishing for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass on Raymond Pond, Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (March 1, 2025)

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The conditions are perfect this morning: temps in the 40’s, overcast, and a couple of inches of snow on top of 18 inches of ice.

 

Raymond Pond is a 346-acre body of water located in Raymond, Cumberland County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 B2). This pond does not have a recognized public access. I reach the ice this morning through the shoreline property of a friend. An unimproved and unmarked boat ramp exists off Raymond Hill Road on Swans Road as it crosses over towards a large island on the eastern shore. But the several prominent “no trespassing” and “private road” signs by the entrance of Swans Road indicate that this road is closed to the general public.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin River in Lisbon Falls, Androscoggin County, Maine (August 5, 2024)

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Greg’s very first fish ever! He won’t forget this moment anytime soon.

 

Greg, my 11-year-old great nephew, is visiting us from far, far away. He is a city kid who has never held a rod in his hands before. He has asked me five times over the last two days if I can go fishing with him… Where should one bring a child who has no clue how to cast a lure, has a 5-minute attention span, and absolutely needs to feel a scaly creature on the other end of the line? One of those winning spots is the Androscoggin River below the hydroelectric dam in Lisbon Falls. I have visited that location in summers’ past to catch smallmouth bass and did well (see here and here for examples). The public access is found about 1 mile south of downtown Lisbon Falls on Route 196 (Lewiston Road) and is called the Pejepscot boat ramp (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 6 B2). This hard-topped launch is spacious and offers unlimited parking.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Androscoggin River in Durham, Androscoggin County, Maine (July 22, 2024)

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Shawn is the first one to catch bass this morning.

 

Shawn, an angler friend from away, would like to experience the awesome smallmouth bass fishing on the Androscoggin River. I decide to check out the conditions on the river in Durham where I have fished for bronzebacks in summers’ past and did well (see here and here for examples). The hard-top boat launch next to Route 136 (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 5 A5) is spacious and offers unlimited parking.

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River in Fairfield, Kennebec County, Maine (July 4, 2024)

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Follow this sign on Main Street to reach the boat launch.

 

My target today is the stretch of the Kennebec River flowing through Fairfield in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 76 A3). This location is new to me, so I do not know what to expect. I “flew” over the area using Google Maps in preparation for this trip. The section below the boat launch seems to consist largely of a reservoir created by the dam located two miles further downstream. My initial interest is to fish below that dam because such a location typically provide good bass-holding habitat (click here, here, and here for examples) but neither the Gazetteer nor Google Maps show a way to put a boat in at or near that spot. Instead, viewed from above on Google Maps, I find what looks like promising fishing grounds between the Bridge Street bridge just above the Fairfield boat launch and the railroad bridge about a quarter mile further upstream. Access to this portion of the river is via a large hard-top boat launch located off Mill Street/Water Street in downtown Fairfield, across from the police station. The launch is part of a municipal park. It offers dozens of parking spaces, but – for some strange reason – not for vehicles with trailers (fundamental design flow!).

 

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Fishing for smallmouth bass (and catfish?!) on the Kennebec River in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (June 29, 2024)

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The hard-top launch is narrow but plenty of parking area is available. The deeper channel is located along the opposite shoreline.

 

My focus this afternoon is on a small section of the Kennebec River that flows below the confluence with the Sebasticook River in Waterville, Kennebec County, Maine (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 76 D1). Access is via a hard-topped boat launch located on Water Street. To reach this location, drive down Water Street (which is a dead-end road) and look for the municipal baseball diamond. The entrance is right passed this field on the left. The launch is narrow but plenty of parking area is available.

 

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Fishing for brown trout on Square Pond in Acton and Shapleigh, York County, Maine (September 2, 2023)

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The boat launch for Square Pond is spacious. Note the large culvert under West Shore Road at the right edge of this photo.

 

Square Pond is a 910-acre body of water located in the towns of Acton and Shapleigh, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 B2). The public access point is located along the western shore of the pond, off West Shore Road. The entrance to the public launch is clearly marked by a blue sign by the road. However, beware that the launch does not face the pond, but is located by its outlet across the road. Boaters need to navigate through a large and wide culvert underneath West Shore Road to reach the pond itself. The boat launch is spacious, has a huge parking area, and provides a convenient porter potty during the warm season.

 

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