Pleasant Lake in Aroostook County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  You will find Pleasant Lake in Aroostook County, Maine. Country round the bank runs to rolling bush. It measures some 320 acres, and wind has room to build across it. Some 4.0 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. On our Aroostook County list it sits near the top for size. The nearest place of any size is Patten, 11 miles away. Hodgdon is 30 miles away, with Houlton at 30 miles. The line between counties passes nearby, which can change who manages the water.

• Where to Fish on Pleasant Lake

  Depth is unknown to us, and the shoreline is the better guide. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. County-wide records name Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brook trout and lake whitefish. Several of these carry legal protection or closed seasons; the rulebook comes before the rod. Take Pleasant Lake a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 9°F in January to roughly 65°F in July. Hard water is a season in its own right here. Winter locks it down, and late April brings it back. In an average year the thaw lands around late April and the freeze near late November. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Pleasant Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Trout here take small spinners, spoons and, where fly water allows, a nymph or dry. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Mud Lake at 1.4 miles is the sensible second choice. Check the current arrangement for Pleasant Lake.