Partridge Pond, Maine: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Partridge Pond sits within Piscataquis County in Maine. What surrounds it is pine and birch. Surface area is around 31 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The bank runs about 1.2 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. For a base, Patten sits 42 miles out. Further out sit Saint-Pamphile (50 miles) and Millinocket (54 miles). One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Partridge Pond

  We hold no survey for this water; read the slope of the shoreline 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. Across Piscataquis County, recorded fish include Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt and brook trout. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Partridge Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Typical July readings run about 64°F; by January the average is down near 8°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Break-up comes around late April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Partridge Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. If the gate is shut, Upper Partridge Pond at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Rules at Partridge Pond are worth checking on the day.