Upper Cranberry Lake, Maine: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Upper Cranberry Lake belongs to Washington County, Maine. The shore lies 24 miles out. Around 133 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. The perimeter runs near 3.3 miles, so plan the walk before you start. Some 23 miles away sits Cherryfield, the nearest settlement. Sherbrooke sits 194 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Upper Cranberry Lake

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name alewife, Atlantic salmon and rainbow smelt. At least one recorded species is protected in parts of its range; read the local rules before targeting anything. On Upper Cranberry Lake the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages move between 16°F in January and 67°F in July. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Count the season from break-up, usually mid April. Open water usually runs from mid April until about early December. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. Plan any trip to Upper Cranberry Lake around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Lower Cranberry Lake, 1.5 miles away. Nothing on Upper Cranberry Lake should be assumed from this page alone.