Pine Lake in Washington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Washington County, Maine, is where Pine Lake sits. Around the bank it is lake country bush. It measures about 27 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The edge runs 1.1 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. It is low-lying compared with other Maine water we list. Calais is the closest town at 5.4 miles. The big place round here is Dartmouth, 181 miles distant. A county boundary sits nearby, which can matter for local access rules.

• Where to Fish on Pine Lake

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Washington County include alewife, Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brown trout and smallmouth bass. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. The near bank of Pine Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 66°F for July and 17°F for January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Ice usually gives way near mid April, and forms again about early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Pine Lake runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Failing this one, try Nashs Lake, 0.7 miles away. Check the position at Pine Lake before loading the car.