Belfast Reservoir Number One in Waldo County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Set in Waldo County, Belfast Reservoir Number One is a Maine water. Salt water lies 1 mile off. At about 36 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Ground here is low by Maine standards. Nearest town is Belfast, 2.3 miles off. The nearest city of size is Manchester, 157 miles away. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Belfast Reservoir Number One

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Inflow corners move water, and moving water gathers fish. Open biodiversity records for Waldo County list brown trout, Atlantic salmon, alewife, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Work Belfast Reservoir Number One in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 67°F and January near 20°F. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually early April. Averages place the thaw at early April and the freeze at mid December. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Plan around that when you fish Belfast Reservoir Number One.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. The water borders McClellan-Poor Preserve, so reserve rules are likely to apply. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Belfast Reservoir Number Two, 0.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Nothing here settles the position at Belfast Reservoir Number One for certain.