Fishing at Cranberry Pond, Piscataquis County, Maine

• Overview

  Cranberry Pond sits in Piscataquis County, out in Maine. The surface lies 1,070 feet up. The water covers some 48 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The edge runs 1.4 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. The town to know is Greenville, 28 miles out. The big place round here is Lévis, 104 miles distant. It lies deep inside the county rather than near an edge.

• Where to Fish on Cranberry Pond

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Piscataquis County records list Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brook trout and brown trout among the fish reported. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. On Cranberry Pond the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 65°F; the cold one sits at 10°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Expect the water usable from around late April until roughly late November. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan any trip to Cranberry Pond around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. Formal access is not mapped, so the last stretch is likely on foot. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Should this one be busy, Big Pine Pond is 2 miles off. Rules at Cranberry Pond are worth checking on the day.