Fishing at Little Messer Pond, Piscataquis County, Maine

• Overview

  Piscataquis County, Maine, is where Little Messer Pond sits. Height above sea level is 705 feet. It runs to roughly 28 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Head to Patten, 16 miles away, for anything you forgot. Millinocket is 28 miles and East Millinocket 31 miles. The county line is nowhere near, so one local authority covers the water.

• Where to Fish on Little Messer Pond

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. County-wide records name Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brook trout, brown trout and Arctic charr. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Anyone new to Little Messer Pond should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 10°F to 65°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. After late April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about late April until roughly late November. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Little Messer Pond that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is camping recorded roughly half a mile off. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Read any posted signs at the access point rather than assuming. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. For a change of water, Messer Pond is 1.1 miles distant. Check the position at Little Messer Pond before loading the car.