Trout Lake near Machias: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Washington County, Maine, is where Trout Lake sits. It sits 21 miles in from the sea. It covers about 24 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by Washington County standards. Machias is the closest place, 20 miles off. Dartmouth sits 205 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Trout Lake

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Fish documented in Washington County include alewife, Atlantic salmon, rainbow smelt, 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. Read Trout Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 67°F and January at 16°F. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around mid April and starts locking again about early December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. That is the shape of the year on Trout Lake.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Sam Hill Lake, 0.6 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at Trout Lake carry more weight than any list.