Stuart Pond Fishing Guide, Kennebec County, Maine

• Overview

  Maine holds Stuart Pond, in Kennebec County. It lies 279 feet above sea level. Surface area runs to about 11 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Kennebec County list. Some 1.1 miles away sits Belgrade, the nearest settlement. Further out sit Sidney (6.4 miles) and Oakland (7.8 miles). There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Stuart Pond

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Survey and observation records for Kennebec County include brown trout, Atlantic salmon and largemouth bass. Some of the species recorded here are protected or tightly regulated, so check what may be targeted before you fish. At Stuart Pond light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 69°F and January about 17°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Firm cover through the cold months, then open water from early April. Average temperatures cross freezing around early April in spring and again near mid December in autumn. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. It holds true on Stuart Pond more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Public data shows nothing built here, so treat the whole approach as informal. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Should this one be busy, Hamilton Pond is 0.5 miles off. Rules at Stuart Pond are worth checking on the day.