Tag Archives: trolling

Fishing for lake trout on Kezar Lake in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (October 19, 2019)

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I just love the way the rising sun “paints” the surrounding landscape.

 

Kezar Lake is a 2,510-acre body of water located in Lovell, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 D2). To reach this location, drive north on Route 5 past Lovell and turn left on West Stoneham Road. Drive on this road for about 500 ft and look for the large blue boat-launch sign. After passing the sign, turn left on North Lovell Landing Road and drive about a quarter mile all the way down to the lake. The boat launch, which is located at the north end of Upper Bay, is spacious and provides lots of parking area. The launch itself is not improved but can accommodate large boats. In fact, the lake residents use it to put in and take out their pontoon boats. I note for the record that a second boat launch is located further south, by the Narrows on West Lovell Road, between Middle and Lower Bay. I don’t use that launch today because I aim to catch lake trout and landlocked salmon which are more abundant in the deeper Upper Bay.

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Fishing for brown trout on Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (October 12, 2019)

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The boat launch is unimproved, steep, and gravelly…

 

Silver Lake (a.k.a. Figure Eight Pond) is a 29-acre body of water located in Sidney and Manchester, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 B5). To reach this location, drive on Route 27 north (towards Belgrade), turn left on Summerhaven Road, go for about 0.6 miles before turning left on Baxter Drive, drive for about 0.2 miles and turn right on Community Drive. The southern lobe of the pond will soon appear on your right. The public boat launch consists of loose gravel and is otherwise unimproved, but can accommodate small trailered boats. However, keep in mind that the launch is fairly steep; I had to use four-wheel drive to pull my boat up the wet and gravelly incline on my way out. In addition, the water by the launch is rather shallow, which requires backing into the lake a fair bit before the boat will float off. I also had to put on my hip boots to manually guide my boat back on the trailer on account of the shallow depth by the launch. Parking space is limited on Community Drive and occurs along the side of the road next to the launch.

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Fishing for brown trout on Biscay Pond in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (September 28, 2019)

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View of the sandy boat launch. The picture does not do justice to the wind howling down the length of the pond.

 

Biscay Pond is a 377-acre body of water located in Bremen, Lincoln County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 7 A4). To reach this location, drive on Route 1 into downtown Damariscotta, turn onto Biscay Road (by the McDonald’s restaurant), and drive down that road for about 2.5 miles. The pond will appear on your right. The boat launch is sandy and unimproved, but can accommodate large trailered boats. The biggest challenge with this launch is its shallowness, which requires backing your vehicle quite a way into the water before the boat will float. I’m very glad I brought my Jeep and hip boots! Ample parking is available along Biscay Road.

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Fishing for rainbow trout on Little Ossipee Lake in Waterboro, Maine (November 24, 2018)

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We came prepared to launch the boat using the 4X4!

 

Little Ossipee Lake covers 564 acres and is located in Waterboro, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 2 A4). Access to this body of water is via an excellent hard-top boat launch located next to Route 5 along the western side of the lake. Ample parking is available next to the launch, as are two porta potties. The lake supports a well-known and popular regional salmonid fishery (rainbow trout in particular, but also brook trout and landlocked Atlantic salmon) which the state maintains via an aggressive annual stocking program. It is also a well-known bass-fishing hot spot. Its easy accessibility and smorgasbord of desirable species ensures that the lake is pounded hard each year during the ice-fishing season, including a well-attended annual ice-fishing derby. I’m going to get a piece of this sweet pie ahead of the crowds…

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Fishing for splake on Indian Pond in Greenwood, Maine (October 7, 2018)

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The boat launch at Indian Pond is unimproved but can easily accommodate small trailered boats

 

Indian Pond covers 68 acres and is located in Greenwood, Oxford County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 10 B5). The access point is on Hobbs Road, off Rowe Hill Road, at the northern end of the pond. Drive on Hobbs Road for 0.6 miles until you reach a gate with a “no trespassing” sign. The boat launch is on the right just before that gate. The launch is unimproved but can easily accommodate small trailered boats. Parking is on the side in the woods.

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Fishing for brook trout on Lower South Branch Pond in Baxter State Park, Maine (September 29, 2018)

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A stunning view of Lower South Branch Pond from the canoe launch area

 

My son Joel and I are leaving town for the weekend to partake in our annual fall camping, fishing, and hiking trip. We’ve decided to visit one of our favorite destinations to pursue these shared passions, namely Baxter State Park (BSP) in northern Maine. The plan is to fish for native brook trout on Lower South Branch Pond on Saturday afternoon, sleep at one of the lean-tos at the camp area by the pond Saturday night, and spend the next day hiking the awesome Traveler Mountains loop trail, which starts and ends at the pond. The South Branch Pond camp site is accessible by car, which makes it very convenient to get to. Camping reservations must be made in advance by contacting BSP directly. Before I get on the topic of fishing, let me say that the effort required to hike the Travelers is, in my opinion, on par with hiking Mount Kathadin located at the southern end of BSP! The Travelers hike may take up to 9 or 10 hours to complete, ascends and descends three main peaks (and numerous “false peaks”), and is quite technical, particularly the first half of the hike (Center Ridge Trail) where long stretches of the “trail” consist of enormous boulder fields that will test your ankles, knees, balance, and muscles. Keep in mind that this hike is NOT for novices or beginners. And here’s the best part. Joel and I encountered a grand total of only two people during the entire day, while I suspect that Mount Katahdin was overrun by hordes of tourists!

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Eight easy steps to sow a baitfish

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Your blog author with a nice brown trout caught at the end of the summer on a sown smelt

Trolling with sown bait is a time-honored Maine tradition for catching salmonids. This highly-effective approach can be used with both fresh bait or dead preserved (e.g., frozen, salted, pickled) bait.

 

Live bait, and smelt in particular, are difficult or impossible to find at your local bait dealer in the summer. The alternative when trolling for salmonids in the summer, therefore, is to use either dead baitfish or lures (e.g., spoons or streamer flies). A dead sown baitfish, if prepared as described in this blog, will provide a much more realistic profile than an artificial lure. Don’t get me wrong here: I’m not implying that artificials don’t work, far from it. After all, I’ve caught way too many salmon and trout trolling with spoons and streamer flies over the years. What I am saying though is that a baitfish, even dead, is more natural-looking than an artificial lure and therefore increases the odds of catching the fish we so desire. I suspect the major reason that the Maine fishing rules only allow for artificial lures when fishing for salmonids in ponds and lakes in southern Maine after October 1 when those fish are getting ready to spawn is because the real thing is so much better at fooling them than artificial lures.

 

Personally, I prefer using a sliding minnow rig if my baitfish is alive. The reason is that a live baitfish will remain alive for a long time on the sliding minnow rig, and will therefore really look and swim like the real thing down below. On the other hand, one just can’t sow a live baitfish as described below and expect it to stay alive for long! So, my preference is to use the sliding minnow rig with live bait and the sowing technique with the stiffer dead bait.

 

Finally, over half a dozen different techniques have been developed to sow a baitfish. Each one gets to the end results slightly differently. The approach I discuss below was taught to me by a Maine old-timer. I find it quick and extremely easy to implement, and simple to teach. So, here it goes.

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Fishing for brown trout on Sand Pond in Litchfield, Maine (September 22, 2018)

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The boat launch on Woodbury Pond is spacious and can accommodate big boats.

 

Sand Pond covers 177 acres and is located in Litchfield, Kennebec County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 12 D3). This pond does not have its own hard-top public boat launch. The closest one is located at the northern end of Woodbury Pond, which is connected to Sand Pond via a wide underpass over which runs Routes 9 and 126. That public access point can be reached as follows: while driving north on Hallowell Road, turn left on Hardscrabble Road and make an immediate left on Whippoorwill Road. Drive 0.3 miles on this road until you see the blue public access sign to your left. The boat launch is clean, spacious and well-maintained. It provides plenty of parking and also access to a convenient porta potty.
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Fishing for brown trout on Horne Pond in Limington, Maine (September 16, 2018)

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The sign to the boat launch on Horne Pond is clearly marked at the entrance by North Road

Horne Pond (a.k.a Pequawket Lake) covers 166 acres and is located in Limington, York County, Maine (see The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer map 4 D4). The public boat launch can be reached by turning onto Moy Mo Da Yo Road (I swear I didn’t make that name up!), which is the first dirt road on the right side of North Road about 400 ft after you turn onto it from Route 25. The turn-off on North Road is clearly indicated by a large green sign. Drive for another half a mile or so on this dirt road and follow the directions for the boat launch. The launch is hard-topped and can accommodate substantial boats. Ample parking is available nearby.
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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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