Pug Lake Fishing near St. Stephen, Maine

• Overview

  This water sits in Washington County, Maine. Height above sea level is 128 feet. This is a pocket water of some 13 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. On size it sits at the modest end of our Washington County list. 13 miles away sits St. Stephen, the nearest town. Calais is 14 miles and Saint Andrews 24 miles. The nearest edge is a long way off, so local rules apply throughout.

• Where to Fish on Pug Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Survey and observation records for Washington County include alewife, Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brown trout and smallmouth bass. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Pug Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 67°F in July and bottom out at 16°F in January. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The season between ice runs from about mid April to early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. That shapes the year on Pug Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. There is no recorded infrastructure here; expect to find your own way in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Upper Mud Lake at 0.5 miles is the sensible second choice. Confirm access to Pug Lake locally before you travel.