Now, even though I declined the offer, I was made a driver trainer anyway. Two and a half hours later, we were back at our campsite, it was now steadily raining and getting dark. Physical Address: 284 State Street Augusta, ME 04333-0041. Of course, stricter regulations can only provide the desired results if quality cold-water habitats are protected. Now a few things, if you’re not at your site you MUST place any coolers or food in your vehicle as well as at night.

This is because in places that have an over-abundance of spawning habitat, competition for food among the brook trout themselves can also severely limit the size of individual fish. So from now through the end of the season, I usually switch back to using sinking lines and big, ugly flies for the majority of my fishing. However, this year, unlike last, we will be staying at Wilderness Edge Campground just outside of Baxter’s south gate entrance in our 5th wheel. Most of it was thrown willy-nilly into the truck, we left our site just as we had found it, spent the rest of the week at the Katahdin Inn in Millinocket, a really friendly place to stay, and agreed to NEVER try “roughing it” again! This is a large lake and the only FFO water around Baxter where outboard motors are allowed. Physically getting to the specific pond you are interested in can be a bigger challenge,  considering the vastness of the ever-changing maze of signless logging roads you’ll need to negotiate to get there. This small pond only covers 6 acres but has a maximum and average depth of 31 ft and 12 ft, respectively. After all, Maine is larger than all the other New England states combined, and most of its hundreds of trout ponds can only be accessed from dirt roads or trails that don’t appear on the roadmap. Day-use and overnight camping fees are charged. Then, once you have identified a few ponds or a region that sound appealing, you can write or call fly shops, guides or sporting camp operators who serve that area to get more detailed information. Due to their northern latitude and fairly high elevation, these camps are an ideal place to stay during mid-summer, because fishing typically holds up much better here than in many of the waters farther south.

Our favorite place in Maine would have to be Baxter State Park. A number of studies have shown that wild trout tend to grow faster, live longer and deal better with the rigors of life in a harsh environment than trout produced in a hatchery. All of the sites are great there, but little did I know just what a problem my selection was going to create. An avid fly fisherman himself, Owen had witnessed first-hand how encroaching roads and increasing fishing pressure had been contributing to an overharvest of trout in remote ponds statewide. Most of these outlying ponds produce fish up to 16², and have canoes that can be rented from park personnel. I had plenty of food, snacks, bug spray, and clothes for any kind of weather.

There are also no campfires allowed for the same reason. Thus, remote ponds that only contain brook trout and bait fish, such as shiners or dace, almost always produce larger trout than ponds that also contain spiny-finned competitors.

The trail is not overly difficult or terribly long. Chimney Pond Campgound is located in the bottom of the South Basin, a massive glacial cirque with granite walls rising nearly 2,000 feet overhead. They both enjoy camping (in a tent) as well as “glamping” (in their 5th wheel), hiking, climbing, whitewater rafting and any other outdoor adventure that allows them to see the splendor of the state of Maine. The elevation at Chimney Pond is 2,914 feet and that is the least impressive thing about your experience when you arrive. In acid rain prone northeastern states such as Maine, the acid-buffering capacity provided these more soluble substrates also contributes significantly to the species diversity and overall health of these ponds. In fact, once Kj and I passed the waypoint at Sandy Stream Pond and snapped a few pics of our goofy selves and the views, we never saw another person all the way to the summit and back.

I really am tired of driving that truck!

You can preview chapters and purchase inscribed, signed copies of Kevin Tracewski's book here. Most hiking books and apps, I use the AllTrails app myself, rate it as moderate and for the first mile, it is relatively easy and flat. Essentially, all you need to do is locate some surface activity, cast your huge fly out there, and wait. In larger bodies of water, plankton often form the base of the food chain and smelt make up a significant portion of the trout’s diet. Be sure to check out our fall edition as I will post a review and hopefully a few quotes from our hosts. The index is also known as the 'shoreline development index'. We love the fact that there is no electricity, running water or any other amenities that we have all gotten used to, but we just couldn’t do it. a.lake-photo img { border: 8px solid white; margin: 0 12px 25px 0; max-width: 350px; width: 350px; } And most standard dry flies, especially a #14 Adams will consistently produce fish in Jackson and Lily Pad. I was pretty confident that we were all set for the week. I know that Roderick Haig Brown didn’t have a remote Maine trout pond in mind when he said, “Sometimes, the least important thing about fishing, is the fishing.”  But occasionally, when I’m sitting in my canoe watching a mature bull moose forage along a shoreline draped in brilliant fall colors, or listening to the haunting call of a loon cut through the stillness of a foggy morning, I think that he very well could have. For safety reasons, no bicycles, motorcycles, ATV’s, or over-sized vehicles are allowed into this area. Katahdin. Most trophy fish are taken in late evening during periods when hatches are occurring. But for anglers willing to do a little research, finding your own little corner of paradise is really not that difficult.

Of course, unless you are a geologist or chemist, there really isn’t any easy way to determine the amount of nutrients that are present in the water.

For newcomers, trying to locate these hotspots in unfamiliar waters can be frustrating. He has written several articles for Discover Maine magazine and looks forward to the day when he can make a living exploring the state he loves most. As I write, I am quickly reminded that I failed to meet my deadline for both the winter and spring issue.

In fact, my experience has shown that during the dog-days of summer, trout in many of the best ponds in the state often become confined to just a few limited areas around deep holes or cold-water spring seepages. Thus, early season efforts in places such as Rum, Wilson and the Roach Ponds (all near Moosehead Lake) should center around  inlet and outlet brooks. There are many good fishing waters in Baxter State Park in more accessible areas. And, after witnessing the dramatic decline in wild populations of pond-dwelling brook trout in most other parts of the Northeast, it has become absolutely clear that the survival of native brook trout in Maine will ultimately depend on the preservation of wild lands. Marabou Muddlers, crayfish, salamanders, and leeches in various sizes and colors also account for many fish. I spent the next few months researching and purchasing a tent, a high-performance cooler, camp stove, sleeping bags, air mattresses and whatever else we didn’t already have in our 5th wheel.

Fly fishing in all Maine trout ponds is strongly influenced by the seasons, and depending on location and elevation, ice-out can occur anytime from early April to mid-May. The bugs found us just as I was discovering that I had bought D cell batteries for the little air pump I was going to use to inflate our air mattresses, the pump took C cell.

Most remote trout ponds in Maine are located on private land that is outside the boundaries of public parks and preserves. The key is to narrow the scope of your investigation down to a manageable area. In Maine, the most important factor is often the type of substrate that a pond is located on. We stretched out on a warm flat slab of granite, ate our turkey and swiss wraps, split a can of sour cream and onion Pringles, re-hydrated and re-energized with a bottle of water and a single-serve packet of Kool-Aid from our backpacks and enjoyed the peace and tranquility that so many quiet places within Baxter’s borders allow. Fortunately, with the positive economic impact that tourism has had on the Maine economy recently, it seems like maintaining forested refuges around natural attractions such as trout ponds is finally becoming a priority. Kj was in pretty good spirits considering the miserable night we had endured. The greater the number, the more 'irregular' is the shoreline. Kj rolled out our sleeping bags over the not yet inflated mattresses and went down to the ranger station to buy a bundle of firewood. Doesn’t sound like a big deal to most of you I know, however, the company I work for takes these things exceptionally seriously. The premier hatch on most Maine trout ponds is the Green Drake, Hexagenia limbata.

One wrong step and your great day on the trail could take a bad turn. Whether you ascend it from Chimney on the same day or, head back down and attempt your climb from the other side on Abol, or The Hunt Trail. This is because the nutrients needed to support biological productivity are easier to dissolve and leach out of these softer substrates than from solid rock. It’s approximately 6.6 miles from the Ranger’s station check-in at Roaring Brook, up and back. Thankfully, that was not the case as we learned later when we signed out at the Roaring Brook Ranger’s Station. We walked over to the Ranger’s station to check in and get our assigned campsite. Even though I was online bright and early, 5:30 am in LA, the sites I wanted were already booked.

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