Bottle Lake in Penobscot County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Bottle Lake sits within Penobscot County in Maine. Beyond the shoreline you have pine and birch. At some 259 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. For a base, Lincoln sits 22 miles out. Then Enfield, 25 miles, and Howland, 30 miles. Others close at hand: Upper Sysladobsis Stream near enough 2.1 miles, Duck Lake at 2.1 miles, Junior Lake near enough 2.4 miles, Lower Pug Lake at 2.6 miles and Upper Pug Lake near enough 2.6 miles. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Bottle Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name Atlantic salmon, brown trout, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel and rainbow smelt. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. On Bottle Lake that means starting tight and working out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 67°F, the coldest about 15°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about early December in an average year. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That is the shape of the year on Bottle Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. There is a slipway on the shore, half a mile from the water we list. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. The nearest alternative is Upper Sysladobsis Stream, 2.1 miles out. What applies at Bottle Lake may have changed since it was mapped.