Side Pistol Lake in Penobscot County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Side Pistol Lake is a Penobscot County water, in Maine. The setting is lake country bush. Surface area is around 123 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. The full circuit measures close to 2.1 miles on foot. The nearest town is Enfield, 20 miles away. Lincoln follows at 20 miles, then Howland at 24 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Side Pistol Lake

  Depth is unmeasured here, so let the shoreline guide you. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Records held for Penobscot County cover Atlantic salmon, brown trout and smallmouth bass. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. Side Pistol Lake gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 67°F and January near 15°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. That is the shape of the year on Side Pistol Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. The nearest alternative is Middle Pistol Lake, 0.7 miles out. Treat Side Pistol Lake as unsettled until someone local tells you otherwise.