Another weekend and another pond to check out. This time I headed over to Trickey Pond near Naples, Maine. Trickey Pond is a unique body of water that is located between Sebago and Long Lakes. It's considered small by Maine standards about 310 acres in size and has a maximum depth of 59ft. From what I've read the pond is primarily fed by springs and because the water is filtered through the ground, it has exceptional water clarity as summer secchi disc readings are typically close to forty feet. It's considered one of the cleanest bodies of water in the state.
Trickey supports both coldwater and warmwater fish species. According to the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries, the pond is annually stocked with landlocked Atlantic salmon and brook trout because the pond has limited spawning habitat for these species. The pond use to have a population of lake trout but it collapsed and stocking was discontinued in the early 90s, because of the bass predation and in its place splake are stocked. Of course, the most numerous game fish in the pond is bass.
As I usually do before heading to a new body of water, I'll download a depth map and look for any fishing reports. I found several past fishing reports and those anglers have referred to Trickey as a place where you have to really work for the fish. The qaulity is fish is high, but the quantity is low as the pond can only support so many fish. But, since I'm targeting bass, I don't think I'll have a problem getting into fish this morning.
As expected this weekend, we had more rain and this makes it 16 of 17 weekends of it. I volunteered to work Saturday as it rained most of the day and I was more than happy to get overtime as I would have probably been a fixture on the couch that day. I hit the road a little after five in the morning and the sky is overcast and gloomy. The drive is about 35 minutes north on highway 114 and I turn off to the public boat ramp which is located on the southside of the pond. Unlike Peabody and Hancock, the boat ramp is new and there's ample parking. There's also a cleaning station and even the use of free lifejackets.
There's already one truck parked and I unload and assemble the kayak, but I forgot my paddle so I hope my pedal drive doesn't malfunction, because it's not going to be fun having to paddle with my hands. I push off the ramp and I immediately notice how clear the water is. The clarity is remarkable as I can easily see rocks, branches and leaves scattered on the bottom without the aid of polarized glasses. I pedal out and I see a small boat with 2 guys slowly trolling out in the deeper water, there most likely going for salmon or trout and me on the other hand, I'm in full bass mode.
I start on the western side of the pond and I noticed how shallow it is. On the fish finder, I notice there's really no structure on the bottom. I cast out my trusty silver crankbait and start trolling. I pedal and soak in the scenery. The surrounding hills are cloaked in mist and the pines and hemlock have a beautiful green hue against the grey sky. I pass a summer camp and I'm sure the kids are still sleeping and itching to get in a swim in as yesterday was a crummy day.
I'm not marking any fish so I go in close to shore. I stand up and I can see the bottom as there's sunken trees scattered about. I can also see several bass beds, but no bass as the eggs probably hatched last month. I cast near any available structure and I can easily see my crankbait flutter in the water. I scan and I see no fish not even a minnow or sunfish. I can't imagine what the clarity is like when the sun is out, because I'm still stunned how clear it is. I throughly work the shoreline and get no hits.
I ditch fishing close to shore and resume trolling in water about 20' deep and I mark a fish here and there. I round a point and I see a bunch of pontoon boats at a dock. Then I see a lot of campers parked in the woods. It's now a little after six in the morning and so far I have a skunk drapped on my neck. The pond is also shallow here as I pass over 12' of water and all I see is a flat featureless bottom. I decide to cross over and see what's on the other side. I look over at the 2 islands, but the depth map I have shows it's only 10' deep around so I don't even bother trying.
There's plenty of cottages on the eastside and all of them have docks so I know there will be bass hanging around. I troll along the shore and noticed it's deep right off the shoreline. I'm maybe 20' off the shore when my rod gets slammed. The fight is brief as the line goes slack and I reel in my lure. I position myself about 50ft off the docks and I cast as close as I can to them. I feel a hit and set the hook and pull in a small largemouth bass. I continue to cast near docks and boats and I'm picking off fish, but nothing really big. I also noticed there's more structure as can see large boulders scattered about.
I finally make my way to the south end of the pond and I see the two guys in the boat that were trolling for salmon. They were anchored and I could see a couple bobbers in the water and they were eating breakfast and chilling. We started chatting and the first thing I noticed was a fly rod in the rod holder. In this part of the country, it's common to see some anglers use leadcore line on a fly reel when fishing smaller lakes for either salmon and trout. Curious I asked the guy about his set up. He told me it was a 9 weight rod and he used 3 smelt streamers in tandem and would fish them higher in the water column. He went to say that he often pulled the line to get any fish nearby their attention. In my head, I thinking it's basically a teaser set up. They also had a small downrigger and fished deeper around 35 feet deep and they were running spoons. I asked if they had any success and they said no.
I've thought of the idea of getting a leadcore setup instead of using a downrigger. It would make sense, if I'm fishing smaller bodies of water where I don't have to fish really deep water. I have a couple crankbaits that can get down to 30 feet deep, but I haven't really bother to try it because I don't have a rod holder yet and I know my wrist will pay dearly if I decide to troll with them. I tend to prefer to jig if I start marking fish or I'll just wait until fall when the ponds start to get colder and the salmon and trout move into shallow water.
I wish them luck and I turn around and head north along the eastern side of the pond. I begin trolling once again trying to stay in that 15 to 20 foot range and I rod gets hit really hard. This fish feels really big and I hear a splash behind me, but I can't see what it is. I stop and stand up and I see a huge bass fighting hard to reach the bottom. A few time the drag starts going and I tighten it. I finally get a glimpse and it's a largemouth. I finally get it along the kayak and pull it out of the water. It has a huge belly and I estimate it to be around 5 pounds. Catching a largemouth is a rare feat for me as we didn't have any where I grew up in Ontario as we were too far north. In Ohio there were plenty of lakes and ponds that had them, but I was never a summer angler there. It was a beautiful specimen none the less and I gently released it and slowly swam into the depths.
As the morning progress the sun gradually came out and so did the people at the summer camp. I hear the engines of boats firing up at the camp and the counselors took several kids out and raced up and down the pond. I knew that meant it was time for me to head back. A small pond and boat traffic don't mix very well. When I arrived at the boat ramp, I could see several people in scuba gear enter the water. I can't imagine what it must look like diving in a lake that rivals the waters of the Caribbean. I joked to them that they could see all of the fish I didn't catch. I haul out and I noticed a couple of trucks with trailers waiting. I quickly grab my kayak cart and head back down. I place the kayak on top the cart and start pulling it up the ramp. The people in the truck commented that the cart was ingenious. As I strapping the kayak on the car roof, I noticed more people are coming in and there's no parking spots. A guy asked if I'm leaving and said yes. He instructs his friend to get out and hold the spot as he unloads the trailer. We talk about the fishing and I told him I did well on the east side of the pond. With the kayak secured, I wished him good luck. That's one of the reasons why I get up so early to go fish. I've often told my girlfriend that getting out early means there's hardly anybody out and the fishing is best in the early morning hours, plus I won't get brunt to a crisp fishing in the sun.
Trickey Pond is one of the most unique bodies of water I've ever fished. I can't remember ever fishing water that clear. It's the perfect pond for the kayak angler as it's small enough to cover it entirely in a couple of hours.
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