I love a good find #96

I have always prided myself on being tenacious when it comes to finding something I really want to find. So, when I heard about a pond in Northern Maine that had big fish in it, I was all in. Now, I also have to say that I am a bit of a tight lip. I make that statement because I don’t like to share my findings until I have tried them out. There is quite a process that goes into finding a point on a map. First, you have to locate the place you want to go to, and then get the coordinates. I initially use the Delorme gazetteer to first find the place and from there can get some sort of coordinates of the location. Then I take those coordinates and load them into Google Earth. That is where I can really pinpoint the actual location and latitude and longitude that will help me get there. Once I have those, I load them into either my Delorme PN-60 or my Garmin Oregon and then it’s off to the races.

This particular target that TC and I was looking for was in Northwestern Maine accessed through the Saint Francis, North Maine Woods gate. You can also come from the other side through the Six Mile or Fish River checkpoints, but it is longer. I had gotten some good recon from a friend of mine who fished this location and Tom said it was a good bet. So, one morning during fishing season, TC and I set out to find this pond. Miraculously, we almost made it that day, however, an impediment stopped us in our tracks. We drove up the road and could see the pond on our right side down in the woods.

We came to the road that we thought was going to take us there only to find a logging operation had parked their crane smack dab in the middle of the road, effectively blocking our progress. We looked and looked but there was no way of getting around it so we abandoned our search that day. I told TC that hunting season would bring me back there and I would do some further scouting at that time.

Hunting season came and I was out doing a little bird hunting with my friend Roger. I told him about it and we decided to take a ride. As we got to the road where the crane was parked, I was happy to see it was gone and the road was open. We parked the truck, loaded our shotguns and began walking. We walked until we came to the end of the road and although I knew the pond was not far away, the trail went cold. I mentioned to Roger that I had seen a road off to the left when we were walking in and wanted to go back and see where that took us. We strolled back and found the dirt track and walked down it until blue water came into sight from behind the tree cover. We continued to walk and just as we got to what looked like a path, we were greeted with a major ruckus. In our quest to find the pond, we neglected to watch out for any partridge we might come upon. Well, one on the left side of the trail saw us before we saw him and he took off. By the time we got our guns up, he was in the next county.

So, putting that out of our minds, we followed the path that brought us to the pond I had been searching for. Immediately, I noticed two boats tied up on the shore and one of them had a motor still attached. We made our way down to the water and I could see that it was crystal clear and the pond was very long and narrow. I could see much of the pond but the remaining part was out of sight. Regardless, it was beautiful!

I had finally found it from map to water. Roger commented that he would like to try it in the spring and you can bet that TC will be there as well. For now, let’s just keep this our little secret, until of course I try it. Then maybe, just maybe, I’ll spill the beans. Remember, that’s maybe I said……..

Oh, and by the way, we ran into this guy in our travels....