French Hill Pond Fishing Guide, Hancock County, Maine

• Overview

  You will find French Hill Pond in Hancock County, Maine. Country round the bank runs to rolling bush. At roughly 3 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. On size it sits at the modest end of our Hancock County list. Trenton sits 3.8 miles from the bank. Bar Harbor lies 5.5 miles off, Hancock another 9.3 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on French Hill Pond

  Our records hold no depth for this water. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Hancock County include Atlantic salmon, brown trout and alewife. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. French Hill Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 67°F, with January the cold end at about 20°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early April. The season between ice runs from about early April to mid December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. It sets the rhythm of the year at French Hill Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. This falls in or next to protected ground, so rules will be tighter than usual. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Failing this one, try Hamilton Pond, 2.1 miles away. Confirm access to French Hill Pond locally before you travel.