Second Lake Fishing near East Machias, Maine

• Overview

  This water sits in Washington County, Maine. The sea is 6.9 miles distant. This is sizeable water at about 1,364 acres, and a boat opens up most of it. Size puts it in the front rank of our Washington County list. East Machias is the closest place, 5.2 miles off. The big place round here is Dartmouth, 185 miles distant. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Second Lake

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Washington County list alewife, Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt and brown trout. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Second Lake responds to conditions more than to tactics.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 66°F at the top of summer and 18°F at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about mid December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. It holds true on Second Lake more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. A jetty or pier is mapped about half a mile from here. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Shiny Lake, 1.6 miles out. Confirm access to Second Lake locally before you travel.