Fishing Big Bartley Pond in Somerset County, Maine

• Overview

  Big Bartley Pond belongs to Somerset County, Maine. The bank gives way to pine and birch. At about 37 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Nearest place of any size is Lac-Mégantic, 22 miles away. Linière follows at 31 miles, then Saint-Côme--Linière at 36 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Big Bartley Pond

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Somerset County records list Atlantic salmon, brown trout, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt among the fish reported. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. On Big Bartley Pond that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 10°F to 64°F. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Climate figures give an open season running late April to late November. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. That shapes the year on Big Bartley Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Little Bartley Pond sits 0.7 miles off and takes the overflow. What applies at Big Bartley Pond may have changed since it was mapped.