Undiscovered Maine

2 great places to fish in Fort Fairfield!

The Aroostook river offers great fishing from the banks of the river as well as from a kayak or canoe. 

Another fun place to fish is Monson Pond. According to Maine.gov, “Monson Pond is a pet-friendly attraction in Fort Fairfield, Maine, located at Morse Rd & Page Rd, Fort Fairfield, ME, US, 04742-0000. It’s a good spot for fishing, boating, and swimming, and has good water quality for coldwater game fish. The pond is up to 92 feet deep and is home to brook trout, rainbow smelt, minnows, golden shiner, redbelly dace, and creek chub.” The town also stocks Monson pond with about 2,000 trout every spring. Many people access it at the Fort Fairfield Fish and Game Club, 550 Dorsey Rd. 

Gear recommendations

According to Jack Mountain Bushcraft Media, 

“The best overall fly fishing rod for the water and fish we have in northern Maine is a 5-weight, 9-foot, rod with weight forward, floating line. This will allow you to fish for small stream trout, but still be large enough if you wanted to go out for smallmouth bass or other game fish.

There are two types of fishing gear you might consider getting: a spinning rod and a fly rod. Spinning rods have line that is weightless, and you use the rod to cast the terminal tackle (lure, bait, etc.) that has weight. There is not a lot to casting a spinning rod, and they are available everywhere.

Fly Rods use a weighted line to cast weightless terminal tackle (fly). There is a lot that goes into learning to cast a fly well. You can buy these at the Presque Isle Walmart, but you might want to get a good one from a reputable source, which is why I’m posting this in mid-March. Timing, technique, and the smooth application of power to a hard stop are all part of the process.”

According to Bill Graves, June is a great time to fish for trout in the Aroostook river. He says,

“I’m a big fan of trolling streamer flies on the Aroostook River, not tandem like those used on lakes, but single hook patterns in size 4 or 6 that measure 1 ½- to 2-inches in length. A gray ghost, Miss Sharon, magog smelt, black nose dace or Herb Johnson special will all catch trout. I highly recommend brining a 5- or 6-weight dry fly rod with a floating line along in the boat. There are bound to be insect hatches throughout the day all this month, and anchoring to cast to rising brookies is fun, fast and furious surface fishing. Try a light Cahill, blue dun, Hendrickson, Henryville special or a gray slim Jim dry fly in size 14 or 16.”