Key Species: lake trout, landlocked salmon and brook trout possible, white perch, pickerel
Best Way to Fish: boat, canoe
Best Time to Fish: June through September
MAG: 24, C-1
Description: This 1,351-acre pond has a deep trench running east to west down its center. The deepest point is 104 feet, perfect for huge lake trout. No practical opportunity exists for fishing from shore, but you can launch a boat at the private boat ramp. If you fish here in winter, be sure to get a copy of Maine’s ice fishing regulations. Motels are available in Ellsworth, and you can camp at nearby Lamoine State Park.
Fishing index: A remnant population of landlocked salmon and some brook trout attract local anglers, but lake trout are the major species. Beech Hill Pond produces some of Maine’s largest lake trout, and most are taken by ice fishing. If you come here in the winter, fish in the middle of the pond, where depths range from 90 to 104 feet. Use tip-ups and bait your hook with the largest golden shiners you can find. An 8-pound test leader is ideal. Suckers are productive here, too. You might want to kill your bait in order to ensure that it stays on the bottom where a lake trout can find it. Set your tip-ups far enough apart so that a fish, taking one hook, cannot easily get tangled in another line. Lake trout are often slow to bite, so you will need patience. As long as you are confident that your bait is on the bottom, you can do no more. Sometimes the fish will just turn on, and when that happens, you might get two or three bites at once.
Some anglers take lake trout by jigging with a large Swedish Pimple. A bit of minnow on the hook may bring more strikes. When jigging for lake trout, be sure that your reel has a functional drag and is loaded with least 100 yards of 8-pound test line. Lake trout bite best here around dawn, but fish are taken throughout the day. The chance to take huge lake trout attracts crowds of anglers, but despite the fishing pressure, the lake remains a steady producer.
In late April and May, you should concentrate on the areas closer to shore where the water is not so deep. Still-fish or troll with large shiners. Later on, use deep-trolling methods in the middle of the pond, either lead-core line and
lake trolls with a minnow behind, or a minnow fished with a downrigger. You can also take lake trout with lead-core line, a large dodger, and a Jerry’s smelt tied a few inches behind.
Directions: From Ellsworth, head west on U.S. Route 1A. At Ellsworth Falls, turn right on Maine Routes 179 and 180. Continue on Maine Routes 179 and 180, and bear left on Maine Route 180 where the combined roads separate. Continue north on Maine Route 180 and watch for signs for the Green Lake Fish Hatchery. Just past the hatchery sign, you will come to a fork in the road. Turn left at the fork onto the Gary Moore Road. At about 2.3 miles, you will cross a stream. Take the first left turn just past the stream. Follow this road to the private boat ramp.
For more information: Contact the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Regional Fish and Wildlife Headquarters in Bangor.
