Shaw Pond, Maine: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Look for Shaw Pond in the Somerset County part of Maine. The surface lies 1,273 feet up. Roughly 43 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. The edge runs 1.3 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. For supplies, Kingfield is 23 miles out. The nearest city of size is Sherbrooke, 79 miles away. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Shaw Pond

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Somerset County include Atlantic salmon, brown trout, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and rainbow trout. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. Take Shaw Pond a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 11°F in January and 64°F in July. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Look for the thaw near late April; the fishing lifts straight after. Climate averages put the opening at about late April and the closing near late November. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Time your trip to Shaw Pond by conditions rather than dates.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Public mapping records no formal access here, so plan for a walk and soft ground. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Some ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. The nearest alternative is Lower Shaw Pond, 0.7 miles out. Check the position on Shaw Pond before loading the car.