Big Lyford Pond, Maine: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  The Piscataquis County end of Maine holds Big Lyford Pond. The ground round it is rolling bush. Roughly 142 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The full circuit measures close to 2.5 miles on foot. The nearest town is Greenville, 16 miles away. Further out sit Brownville (24 miles) and Milo (28 miles). No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Big Lyford Pond

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. The arms fish better than the open middle whenever the water is up. Reported across Piscataquis County: Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brook trout, brown trout and Arctic charr. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Fish Big Lyford Pond to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 64°F at the top of summer and 10°F at the bottom of winter. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. Expect Big Lyford Pond to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. First West Branch Pond, 1.9 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Rules at Big Lyford Pond are worth checking on the day.