How to identify ponds and lakes for catching trout in Maine (2024)

My blog readers know that one of my angling “specialties” is to explore new places across our great state of Maine and consistently catch trout and salmon in open water or under the ice. Even though I reside in the Sebago Lakes region of southern Maine, I will confidently drive several hours into areas of the state unknown to me and catch salmonids in water bodies located at the end of dirt roads lost in the woods somewhere. Through trial and error, I have developed a winning strategy to uncover these places quickly and efficiently. This blog explains that approach and will help you do the same.

But before proceeding, I need to mention two critical shortcuts I prepared in the past that greatly speed up the task of finding promising fishing locations.

• A list of ponds and lakes stocked with trout. Years ago, I spent a long and rainy weekend preparing an Excel table that included the 600+ ponds and lakes in Maine stocked with trout. I obtained their names from the Maine Department of Inland Fish and Wildlife (MDIFW) stocking reports and organized this information alphabetically by county. I included the town, whether a water body is open or closed to ice fishing, its surface area, and the map number in the Maine Atlas and Gazetteer.

• The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. I spent another long and rainy weekend hunched over a new Maine Atlas and Gazetteer circling in red each of the stocked ponds and lakes contained in my Excel table. I then circled in blue the 500+ State Heritage Waters (more about them later). It now takes me literally a few seconds to geographically locate over 1,100 water bodies anywhere in the state that are stocked or support native/wild trout! In fact, I own two gazetteers: one lives permanently in my truck and helps me reach my destinations; I NEVER leave home without it. The second one remains at home and contains the heritage and stocked waters information mentioned above. Also, have you noticed how gazetteers quickly fall apart because their pages are held together by only three staples? I have “bound” both of my atlases using a heavy-duty sowing needle and twine. Those pages have stayed put ever since!

The stocking report: The Maine Department and Fish and Wildlife (MDIFW) publishes its stocking activities in an online report that is updated daily during the spring and fall stocking seasons. This information is a veritable GOLD MINE! It is organized alphabetically by county and shows the species, quantity, and size of the stocked salmonids. Combining these stocking data with the surface area of a pond allows me to determine the exact stocking densities (does the pond receive 5 fish per acre or 50 fish per acre?) of different-sized fish. I closely scrutinize this material to help me decide where and when to go trout fishing, what species and size to target, and what to expect from the experience. For example, all my fall wader angling adventures are planned directly based on this information.

Maine’s Heritage Fish Waters List: Our state is blessed to have retained hundreds of ponds and lakes, mostly in western and northern Maine, that support self-sustaining brook trout populations. Many of those waterbodies contain genetically-pure native brookies, whereas others have wild brookies whose ancestors were stocked decades ago but are now self-reproducing. I derive a lot of satisfaction knowing that the brook trout at the other end of my line is not a farmed animal but a creature which overcame the unforgiving conditions of its habitat. This list provides a direct conduit to the many Heritage Fish Waters that I have visited in the past (click here, here, here, and here for a few examples). Keep in mind that Heritage Fish Waters have strict angling regulations to protect their unique trout patrimony.

Maine inland fishing laws: I think we can all agree that Maine’s freshwater fishing laws are highly convoluted and very confusing… I make it a point to ALWAYS check the law book before I go anywhere unfamiliar because the rules can differ widely across water bodies, and it is real easy to make mistakes. And the regulations can and do change over time…But precious gems are buried deep within those regulatory layers for those willing to dig! For example, a) code FFO (fly fishing only) tells you that the pond or lake is managed exclusively to protect a unique trout population, b) codes S-16, S-17, and S-18 (minimum length limits on brook trout) says that the water body is managed specifically to yield larger-than-usual fish, or c) code CI (closed to ice fishing), when applied to a stocked pond, tells you that this water will be full of larger hungry trout eager to bite the following spring (click here, here, and here for examples). The way to efficiently find these places is to click on the fishing laws link above, go to the “Special Fishing Laws”, and search for a specific code to identify target ponds. Paying attention to these kinds of details can greatly enhance your fishing experiences.

Google Maps: Much of my fishing occur in places I have never visited before and will most likely never go back to again. Google Maps has become an indispensable tool to prepare for such trips. I use “Street View” whenever possible to find and visualize water access points along roads. I “fly” on-screen over my target water body to pinpoint boat launches (also shown in The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer) or non-official entry points, find hidden access roads, observe shorelines and shore structure (e.g., boulders and fallen trees in the water), and generally get a feel for a place before I reach it. I am much more productive if I do not have to waste time figuring out how to access an unknown water body or how to fish it once I am there.

Depth maps: The MDIFW provides depth maps for just about every pond and lake in Maine (note: Lakes of Maine may provide depth maps for locations not covered by the MDIFW collection). I make it a point to always print out the depth map of the water body I plan to visit, especially if it is the first time. During the ice fishing season, these maps help me find drop-offs, shallow areas along the shore, deep holes, trenches, etc. During trolling season, they tell me which areas to avoid (e.g., too shallow) and which areas to target (e.g., areas deep enough to form a thermocline). Even though these maps are crude and should not be used to inform navigation – submerged boulders right below the surface anyone? – they are extremely useful in providing a good sense of the general bathymetry of your target pond or lake. I extensively rely on this resource to plan my fishing trips. I realize that fancy fish finders may come with depth maps, but those are useless for the vast majority of places I like to visit: those places are small, off the beaten track, lack boat launches, and/or can only accommodate canoes or other small hand-carried craft.

Surface water quality data: I enjoy the challenge of summer trolling for rainbow trout, brown trout, and splake in ponds and lakes across southern and central Maine. Consistent success in that specialized type of fishing requires detailed knowledge about the location of the thermocline in those waters. I obtain that information from a large downloadable dataset available from Lakes of Maine. This dataset provides surface water quality data (dissolved oxygen and temperature are the variables I need) collected in summer and fall from the surface to the bottom in hundreds of ponds and lakes across Maine over many years. The thermocline is where the salmonids find refuge in the summer from warm water at the top and oxygen deficient water below. Locate the thermocline and ye shall catch salmonids (or other interesting fish)!

I think you can see the pattern: my goal, always, is to gain as much knowledge as possible about the pond or lake I plan to fish before I leave my house. That body of information informs me how to access the place, where to fish, what species to target, what size to expect, and what to look out for. I simply do not fish “willy-nilly” because that’s a recipe for failure. Of course, good intel does not guarantee that you will catch fish – these creatures do have a mind of their own and they use it, believe me! – but strong situational awareness and site-specific knowledge will reliably tip the scales in the angler’s favor and greatly decreases the chances of getting skunked. After all, isn’t that what fishing is all about? 😊

Was the information in this blog useful? I invite you to share your thoughts and opinions.

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