Fishing for landlocked salmon on Pierce Pond in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 25, 2026)

 

 

Pierce Pond is a 1,650-acre body of water located in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine, to the east of Flagstaff Lake (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). I access it via Cobbs Camp Road (a rough and narrow – but drivable – gravel road) located off Carrying Place Road (a wide logging road) which splits off from Long Falls Dam Road. Beware that Cobbs Camp Road is gated and only open during daylight hours. Passage is free for guests staying at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camps; day users pay a small user’s fee to park and launch their boat at the dock in Lindsay Cove. Anglers can access the water for free at the northern tip of the lake via a rough boat launch.

 

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Fishing for brook trout and landlocked salmon on Pierce Pond in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 24, 2026)

 

 

Pierce Pond is a 1,650-acre body of water located in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine, just to the east of Flagstaff Lake (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). I access it via Cobbs Camp Road (a rough and narrow – but drivable – gravel road) located off Carrying Place Road (a wide logging road) which splits off from Long Falls Dam Road. Beware that Cobbs Camp Road is gated and only open during daylight hours. Passage is free for guests staying at Cobbs Camp; day users pay a small fee to park and launch their boat at the dock in Lindsay Cove. Anglers can access the water for free at the northern tip of the lake via a rough boat launch.

 

Five of us are staying in this cabin at Cobbs Camps.

 

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Fishing for landlocked Atlantic salmon on Pierce Pond in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 22, 2025)

 

The morning is cold, breezy, and overcast. But the fish are biting!

 

Pierce Pond covers 1,650 acres and is located in Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). The main (paying) access to the pond is via the boat launch located on Lindsey Cove at the end of Cobb Camps Road off the Carrying Place Road. This sandy launch is unimproved but can accommodate large, trailered craft. Plenty of parking is available by the launch. Follow the discrete green “Cobbs Camps” signs which begin appearing at the point where Carrying Place Road splits off from Long Falls Dam Road. The dirt road between Long Falls Dam Road and Lindsey Cove is reasonably well maintained and can be used by regular two-wheel drive vehicles. Note that Cobb Camps Road is gated and that the gate attendant works between 7 am and 8 pm. An unofficial launch with two rough camp sites is also found at the northern tip of Upper Pierce Pond. I have not used this launch before nor do I know how to access it.

 

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

 

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 landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout in Pierce Pond, Pierce Pond Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 27 and 28, 2024)

 

Six of us are on our annual extended Memorial Day weekend fishing pilgrimage to Pierce Pond, located at the end of a long dirt road off the grid in Somerset County, just east of Flagstaff Lake (see the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). We are staying for four days in one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Camps located across from Lindsey Cove. I love staying at Cobb’s because of the camaraderie among the guests who have been gathering at this place for decades, the honest home-cooked food, the super-friendly staff, and the authentic “sports camp” atmosphere from a bygone era. Also, the lack of electronic connection to the outside world forces everyone to unplug, slow down, and focus entirely on the business at hand, which is to catch salmonids.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Split Rock Pond in Bowtown Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 28, 2023)

 

 

Split Rock Pond earned its name for the reason pointed out by Antony.

 

Split Rock Pond covers 6 acres and is found in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). Five of us are spending four fabulous days during the long Memorial Day weekend fishing Pierce Pond for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, as well as some of the smaller water bodies in the surrounding watershed for brook trout. We are comfortably “glamping” in one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Camp located on the shore of the lower basin of Pierce Pond. A critical benefit of staying at Cobb’s is that guests get access to the camp’s locked canoes that are stored by various local ponds, plus detailed directions on the trailheads that connect Pierce Pond to those water bodies. Our target pond for this morning is publicly accessible from land, although I do not know how to reach it via the old logging roads shown on map 30 A2.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Pierce Pond, Somerset County, Maine (May 27, 2023)

 

 

One of my sons, two grandsons, a nephew and I are on our annual extended Memorial Day weekend fishing pilgrimage to Pierce Pond, located in the undeveloped wilds of western Maine in Somerset County, just east of Flagstaff Lake (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). We are staying for four days in one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Camps located in Lower Pond across from Lindsey Cove. One of the many aspects I love about staying at Cobb’s – besides the camaraderie among the guests who have been gathering at this place for decades, the good food, the friendly staff, and the authentic atmosphere – is the fact that reaching camp requires a boat. Also, the lack of electronic connections to the outside world allows everyone to unplug, slow down, and focus entirely on the business at hand, which is to catch salmonids!

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Fishing for smallmouth bass on the Kennebec River in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine (August 19, 2022)

 

 

My nephew Joey visits from away and asks me if I can take him smallmouth bass fishing. I want to ensure that we have a fruitful morning, so I select to visit the Kennebec River in front of the Shawmut Dam located in Fairfield, Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 21 D3). I have had solid success at this location during two previous angling trips (click here and here for details) and hope to duplicate those past attainments with him. To reach this location, drive north out of Fairfield on Route 201 (Skowhegan Road) and turn right on Kennebec Street. Drive all the way down towards the dam and power station across from the railroad tracks. A blue boat-launch sign will direct you to the right through an open yellow gate towards the water. Keep in mind that anglers can only launch canoes and kayaks from this spot due to the shallow water and strong current. The area provides plenty of parking.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on Moose Pond in Bowtown Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 30, 2022)

 

 

Parts of the unimproved forest road leading into Moose Pond have been ripped open by four-wheelers during mud season.

 

Moose Pond covers 11 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). This pond can be reached as follows: from North New Portland (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 E2), drive north on Long Falls Dam Road for about 24.5 miles and turn right on Carrying Place Road at the sign for Cobb’s Camps. Drive down this gravel logging road for 10.1 miles until the yield traffic sign and turn left on Bowtown Road (note: Google Maps calls this road “Otter Pond Road”). Pass Harrison Camp on the left, cross Pierce Pond Stream and drive for another 4 miles or so until the road forks. Hang a right at that fork and look for a rough and unimproved forest road to your right a couple of hundred feet further down. Don’t bother driving down this forest road in the spring because several sections of it have been plowed open by four-wheelers and 4X4 vehicles during Mud Season, creating deeply-rutted pools of soft mud. It’s about a half-mile walk from Bowtwon Road to the pond.

 

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Fishing for brook trout on King Pond in Bowtown Township, Somerset County, Maine (May 29, 2022)

 

 

King Pond covers 16 acres and is located in Bowtown Township in Somerset County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 30 A2). Five of us are spending four fabulous days during the long Memorial Day weekend fishing Pierce Pond for landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout, as well as some of the smaller water bodies in the surrounding watershed for brook trout. We are staying “in style” at one of the cozy cabins at Cobb’s Pierce Pond Sporting Camps located on the shore of the lower basin of Pierce Pond. A critical benefit of staying at Cobb’s Camp is access to their locked canoes that are strategically stored at various local ponds, plus detailed directions on the locations of the trailheads that connect Pierce Pond to those water bodies. King Pond is publicly accessible from land, although I have not attempted to reach it via the old logging roads and trails shown on map 30 A2.

 

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