Saint Francis Lake, Maine: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Set in Aroostook County, Saint Francis Lake is a Maine water. The bank is 1,339 feet above sea level. It measures some 351 acres, and wind has room to build across it. Some 4.3 miles of bank gives room to move when the wind turns. It ranks high for size among our Aroostook County listings. Linière lies 39 miles from the water. The big place round here is Lévis, 75 miles distant. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Saint Francis Lake

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. 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. Reported across Aroostook County: Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, brook trout, lake whitefish and Arctic charr. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. The near bank of Saint Francis Lake is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 63°F and January near 8°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late April and starts locking again about late November. Late spring and early autumn carry the year between them. That shapes the year on Saint Francis Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch nearby, which keeps numbers down. For the trout, small spinners and a box of nymphs cover both approaches. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. Wadleigh Pond sits 3.2 miles off and takes the overflow. Confirm before you fish Saint Francis Lake.