Bethel’s Ponds Offer Remote Fishing Experience

            Anglers in Maine have a choice between a town with a variety of hospitality services located lakeside, or a sporting camp with the basics located on a remote lake or pond.  Bethel, Maine offers the best of both fishing worlds.

            Within an hour’s drive of Bethel there are a dozen remote ponds.  Favorites of local guides include Speck Pond, an alpine pond situated at 4,000 feet on Maine’s third highest mountain.  The 1½ acre pond is the headwater of the Sunday River.  The state annually stocks the pond by means of backpack tanks with 500 6-8” brook trout.  It is a two-mile hike to the pond via the Appalachian Trail.  There is a parking lot on Route 26 and a small lean-to for those who wish to camp out by the pond.

            Three-acre B Pond and eight-acre C Pond, were named for the original townships in which they were located, now the Town of Upton and the unorganized territory on C Surplus.  The spring-fed ponds can be reached with a four-wheel drive vehicle over six miles of logging roads from State Route 5 in Andover.  The ponds are full of brookies.  There are two rustic camps on the ponds.  Be sure to let someone know your fishing itinerary, as cell phone reception is not available.

            Crocker Pond and Broken Bridge Pond in the White Mountain National Forest have easy access via gravel road.  Rocky bluffs rise on the western side of 2 ½-acre Crocker Pond.  Five-acre Broken Bridge Pond is within walking distance of Crocker.  Both ponds are stocked by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife with brook trout.  US Forest Service permits are required for parking and use of campsites.

            Just southwest of Bethel alongside Route 26 are a series of large ponds.  Although not remote, they are a favorite with families who can launch boats and canoes from the public ramp located in Locke Mills (Greenwood).  Kids are sure to catch brown trout, large mouth bass, yellow perch, or bluegills.

            Bethel is well-known as the center for fishing on the Upper Androscoggin River, an emerging fishery that bears brown and rainbow trout and small mouth bass.  The resort community has a variety of lodging from motels to inns and B&B’s, campgrounds, and condominium resorts.  Restaurants serve Italian, Korean, Chinese, vegan, and American fare.  There is a four-theater cinema, outdoor adventure center with mini-golf and waterslide and indoor laser tag, golf, gem-mining expeditions, hiking, canoeing and kayaking.  There are a dozen Maine Guides in the community and two outfitters.

            Information is available from the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce on-line at www.bethelmaine.com or toll free 1-800-442-5826.

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