Fall stocking at Prong Pond pays off now, with many nice brookies coming up through the ice. Prong Pond is east of Beaver Cove, seven miles north of Greenville off the Lily Bay Road.

Also try Fitzgerald-Mountain View Pond in Big Moose Township, Sawyer Pond in Greenville and Big Otter Pond in Sandwich Academy Grant, which are all stocked with brookies for winter fishing.

Hotspots for togue (lake trout) include First Roach Pond in Kokadjo, which is also known for its salmon fishing, and Lower Wilson Pond in Greenville, where wild lake trout are abundant. Brassua Lake in Rockwood is home to wild landlocks and brook trout and is also stocked with salmon.

Best bets for bass (in addition to Prong Pond) are Indian Pond in Indian Pond Township and Long Pond in Taunton and Raynham Township.

Brownville Region
In the Brownville region, head for Seboeis Lake. Seboeis’ splake (brook trout-lake trout hybrids) often tip the scales at over 4 pounds. Seboeis is also home to good-sized landlocked salmon, bass, pickerel and white perch. Access is via the North Maine Woods gate at Oxbow.

Other great splake waters in the region include Lower Togue Pond in T2 R9 and Endless Lake in T3R9 NWP.

For big togue action, head over to Matagamon Lake in T6 R8 or Schoodic Lake in Lake View. Schoodic and Millinocket lakes are also auger-worthy salmon destinations, as are Upper Jo-Mary Lake in TA R10 and Pleasant Lake in Island Falls.

Down East Region
When in the Down East region of the Pine Tree State, spend time on West Grand Lake, which doesn’t open for ice-fishing until February, but is well worth the wait. Each year the 14,340-acre lake is known to produce several lunker togue tipping the scales at over 10 pounds.

Other great salmon waters in this region include Alligator Lake in T34MD and Green Lake in Ellsworth. Togue waters include West Musquash Lake in Talmadge, Beech Hill Pond in Otis and Jordan Pond in Mt. Desert Island.

For splake, try Second Old Stream Lake in T 37 MD, Mopang Lake in T 29 MD and Jacob Buck Pond in Bucksport. Brookies can be had at Keene’s Lake in Calais, Indian Lake in Whiting and Montegail Pond in Columbia, where retired brood stock trout in the 16-inch range have been stocked. Best bets for smallmouth bass include Big Lake in Princeton, Hadley Lake in East Machias and Molasses Pond in Eastbrook.

For more information, visit State.ME.US/IFW/Fishing.

MASSACHUSETTS
Onota Lake
Pike like it cold, and Onota Lake’s 617 acres are in the cold, northwest region of the Bay State, which means winter anglers can expect some pretty hot pike action. The lake doesn’t produce massive numbers of pike, but it has a reputation for giving up state record-breakers on occasion. Ice-anglers may also find brown trout, yellow perch, white perch, chain pickerel, bluegills, pumpkinseeds, black crappies, rock bass, brown bullhead, carp, smallmouth and largemouth bass. There have even been reports of white catfish here.

Bonus brood stock Atlantic salmon, some topping 10 pounds, are stocked here each spring. If all that weren’t enough, MassWildlife fisheries biologists have suggested that anglers might want to target carp because a new state record is likely swimming here.