Aroostook watersport enthusiasts are a fortunate breed, especially the fishermen of the region. There are creeks, brooks, rivers, lakes, and ponds everywhere, regardless if you reside in an urban, rural or an off-the-grid, in the woods location. Likely there’s no more than a 15-minute drive to reach a productive trout stream, a landlock salmon lake or a waterway where togue abound. The common quandary for area anglers becomes, do you stay close and fish where pressure from other sportsmen is heavy, or do you drive to more remote waters boasting more fish and fewer fishermen?
I spent the first 17 years of my life in a village called Robinson, halfway between Mars Hill and Bridgewater. Just a short walk away were three terrific trout streams — the Prestile, Three Brooks and Whitney Brook — where even a young, inexperienced kid with a beat-up fly rod could catch fish regularly. The greatest lesson I learned back then still serves me well all these 50 years later — the further away from roads and beaten trails an angler travels, fishing gets better and people scarcer. Although I may park near an easy point of access on a waterway, generally I wade or walk the wooded shoreline or adjacent field edges for at least 300 yards before I start fishing. It pays off.
Now don’t get me wrong, I still have the need to explore new spots. It’s a wanderlust that most outdoorsmen seem to develop with time and experience. When time permits, I’ll hit the road with gear and waders, sometimes hauling my canoe, and drive past a dozen likely waterways to visit one particular location. Sometimes I’m out to catch one particular species while other outings are planned to shun civilization and crowds for some remote, peaceful spot where God and Mother Nature have created a little slice of heaven right here on earth.
I truly enjoy the aerobatic, acrobatic tussles with smallmouth bass where every fish thinks it’s twice the size it actually is. It’s fun to fish a wacky-rigged plastic worm or a Ned Rig — two new tactics that make novice bass anglers look like Bassmaster pros. Over the years, it’s been a long trip south to Baskahegan or Mattawamkeag Lakes, or even the Penobscot River in Medway to fish bronzeback. The last couple of years, however, the St. John River in Fort Kent and up towards Van Buren’s modern, new boat launch site have really been producing some top-rate smallie action.
The trip north to St. John Valley for bass is a shorter trip and smart fishermen will pack a heavier outfit and a few larger lures and plugs to cast or troll for the hefty, toothy musky that lurk in the deep holes and calm runs all along the waterway. A couple of often overlooked smallmouth lakes to the south that yield excellent results, especially during July and August topwater weather, are Upper and Lower Hot Brook and Crooked Brook Flowage, all near Danforth. Fairly shallow, log- and stump-infested and simple to fish with good launch sites, these spots may be overcrowded with bass and pickerel, but never people.
If you’re a perch person, load the canoe or hook up the boat and head to Houlton and beyond on Route 2A, the old Hainesville Road, to fish Wytopitlock Lake. Tasty white perch larger than your hand are plentiful, lots of yellow perch as well as pickerel as long as a young boy’s arm! I especially enjoy tossing 5-inch Senko plastic worms and shallow running crankbaits around the multitude of huge exposed boulders situated in the coves. At dusk it’s time to cast poppers or jerkbaits on the surface, or my favorite technique, casting deer hair bugs or small plastic floating popper flies with a 5-weight fly rod. Talk about a handful of action — wait until that three-pounder strikes!
If you have a dawn to dark full day free to fish and want to experience a variety of waterways and species, head for the North Maine Woods. One of my favorite trips involves travel to Ashland, through six-mile checkpoint, a couple of hours on Upper McNally Pond, then a shore lunch and finish the late afternoon and evening trolling togue on Second and First Musquacook Lakes. There’s time before and between lake visits to stop for an hour at a couple of the several trout brooks crossing under the Realty Road you’re traveling and cast a fly or toss out a worm.
If you have a weekend and want to enjoy an overnight venture with campfire meals and S’mores to accompany breathtaking scenery as well as canoeing and casting, I’d suggest visiting the Deboullie region. A dozen small ponds, just as many camping areas and a wonderfully bucolic walking trail encompass the section of Maine Public Reserve Land. For visiting fishermen, it’s like presents on Christmas morning, only with fishing holes.
A couple of ponds offer the chance to catch some unique and fairly rare blueback trout, a species of landlocked arctic char. Fly fishermen will enjoy plenty of opportunities and due to long travel on rough roads, pressure is moderate at best. A small boat expands casting options, but canoes and kayaks may be cartopped, handled easier and still get a caster to more secluded sections of water.
When time is short, close-to-home waterways certainly provide fishing options. An hour of pre- or post-work casting is bound to make any day a little bit better, but when time allows it’s fun to explore. There are brown trout in the Meduxnekeag River and Drew’s Lake, mammoth musky in Glazier Lake and tough fighting togue from Eagle to East Grand. Maine is Vacationland and July and August are prime vacation months — what more perfect time to visit a new fishing hole.
