Western Mountains Fishing Report: September 4, 2008

One of this agency’s primary missions is to secure public access to Maine’s lakes, rivers, and streams. As regional biologists, we’re responsible for maintaining a list of access priorities, assuring that the list is continually updated, and assisting with locating and designing appropriate sites. We work closely with the Department’s access coordinator and chief engineer, the Department of Conservation, and a variety of local groups to acquire and develop the sites.

Completing a water access project is often a frustratingly difficult and time-consuming endeavor. Nevertheless, we do have some successes each year. In Region D, for example, a full service boat launch is now available on Riley Impoundment of the Androscoggin River near Jay, and a small carry-on site is nearing completion for the Sandy River Ponds, located just south of Rangeley. We recently purchased parcels on the Sandy River in Farmington Falls and New Sharon; when developed, these launches will give anglers and recreational boaters an opportunity to float and fish a 7-mile section of this attractive stream with good smallmouth bass and brown trout populations.

Despite these successes, there is much more to do. Our most pressing needs are at Oaks Pond in Skowhegan and Hancock Pond in Embden. We recently suspended popular stocking programs for splake and brook trout at Oaks, and for salmon and brook trout at Hancock for lack of legal access during the open water months.
(MDIFW can not stock waters where public access is denied or is deemed inequitable with shorefront property owners). Also, the traditional access site for Gull Pond in Dallas Plantation was recently put on the market — the current landowner permitted public use of a small launch site, so its future availability to anglers is now very much in question.

In some cases, the Department’s ability to purchase suitable access sites is compromised because we’re not aware of available properties. We do our best to keep abreast with local real estate markets, but it’s often an impossible task for our small staff. Any help our readers can provide is very much appreciated, so please call us if you have good information on potential access sites.