Mud Pond Fishing near Phillips, Maine

• Overview

  Mud Pond falls in Franklin County, part of Maine. Country round the bank runs to lake country bush. At 8 acres it is the sort of place you fish for an evening rather than a day. Most waters listed here for Franklin County are larger. Nearest place of any size is Phillips, 16 miles away. For a city, Sherbrooke is 70 miles off. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Mud Pond

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Fish documented in Franklin County include Atlantic salmon, brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and rainbow smelt. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Read Mud Pond before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 63°F and January reads 10°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near late April. Break-up near late April, freeze-up near late November: that is the shape of an average year. The open run goes from the thaw to the freeze, and April through October covers most of it. The season on Mud Pond follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Mountain Pond, 0.3 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Check the current arrangement for Mud Pond.