If you're in the Ellsworth area, the Toddy Pond Ramp located off Route 3 is worth checking out. Toddy Pond / Lake is just south of Ellsworth. The ramp is fairly new and in good shape. There is parking for around ten rigs; so it may be hard to get a spot on the weekend.

Toddy Pond has Togue, Brown & Brook Trout, Landlocked Salmon, and White Perch. Toddy Lake seems to be a mixture of Bass and Bluegills. Ironically Toddy Pond is deeper than Toddy Lake, if you believe the labeling in The Maine Atlas and Gazetteer. The two are joined by a series of two peninsulas labeled as Short and Long. I love it when things are kept simple. It enables my small brain to concentrate on more important things like where the fish are.

I arrived at the ramp around 10:00 AM, and after working on my boat, I launched around 10:30. I began a slow cruise by transversing the edges looking for shallows and troughs. After making a full circumference of Toddy Pond, I moved on the southern section.

Toddy Lake has a maximum depth of 26 feet and is covered with outcroppings of ledge and large boulders. The same is to be said of its underwater structure. Some of the boulders protrude from the water and others hide just below the surface. My soundings showed a multitude of boulders jutting up from the bottom in a manner that reminded me of a mine field. And, if you cross this lake at high speeds without knowing its structure, one of these rocks could be crippling to you and your boat.

After making my way slowly to the southern edge of the lake, a tall stand of trees gave way to a pleasantly shaded shallow to take a break in. I pulled my boat into the shade and dropped anchor. This lake exudes all the makings of a truly great Smallmouth Bass lake, and I'm putting this on my winter hit list for Smallmouth ice fishing.

I lay on the bottom of the boat looking up at the sky just as I did when I was a kid. The figurines of the sky are harder for me to see now that I am a well seasoned adult. When I was a child, there would always be an elephant or a Donald Duck dancing somewhere in the clouds. Now, it is easier for me to read the thermals than it is to have a visit with Mickey.

I enjoyed the break, and every time I got up to start fishing, the bottom of the boat lured me down for another look at the clouds. I felt just like a kid again without a trouble in the world. Maybe this is why I'm always drawn back to fishing. It evokes me to interact with the beauty of nature, a beauty that I have never tired of.

I finally broke myself of the trance the sky had lulled me into, and I began looking at the water that surrounded the boat. Throwing the electric trolling motor into gear, I made my way to the center on the channel and headed for a small island in the southern bog of the lake. The water temperature was 74* and there was adequate weed growth in three to five feet of water. But after spending thirty minutes around the island with out a strike, I headed for deeper water.

As I approached a small peninsula with sharply jutting edges, I felt a tap, then another. I switched from a Senko to a Grub, but I still could not hook up. I remembered the crawlers I bought several days earlier for trout fishing and checked to see if they were still alive, they were!

I slipped half a crawler on to a 3/8 jig head and started hooking up with fish. First a Smally, then a Largemouth, followed by other Smallmouths. The Smallmouths were hitting were water depth dropped sharply from seven to sixteen feet. The single Largemouth I hooked up with hit on the flats in seven feet of water. I also grabbed a bluegill on a fairly large hook. He was trying to cheat me out of a crawler, but I got the best of him!

Together Toddy Pond and Lake cover eight miles in length. With this in mind, I was only beginning to scratch the surface of this water. And, when it comes to boating safely, I find it more important to spend time learning the body of water you are on, before you start running from point A to Point B The added advantage to this strategy is finding the sweet spots that hold fish.

Toddy is worth another trip. And if I can afford the time, I will give it another whirl.

Have fun fishing!

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