Graham Lake

Just inland from the DownEast town of Ellsworth is Graham Lake, a popular destination for smallmouth bass, pickerel and white perch anglers. At 7,865 acres and dotted with plenty of small islands and floating heaths (dwarf shrub vegetation) the lake offers anglers a unique fishing opportunity.

With maximum water depths at just under 50 feet, and hundreds of submerged stumps and boulders, most boaters need to take it slow. Small car-toppers and canoes work well on this body of water. That’s good news for bass and perch anglers who can expect smallmouth bass in the 3 to 5-pound range virtually anywhere on the lake. The floating heath islands and shoreline vegetation combine to produce hefty bass and pickerel.

The water of Graham Lake is somewhat brown in color and anglers should do well using stickbaits or crankbaits and lures that make noise. Spinnerbaits work well along the weeds and near the floating heath islands.

White perch in the 8 to 12-inch range travel in schools around the deeper parts of the lake during the summer and usually feed on schools of minnows or hatching insects. A popular area for winter anglers is off the mouth of Webb Brook, on the east shoreline near Hardwood Hill Island in Waltham, and at the dam on Route 180.

Access to Graham Lake can be reached at three boat launch facilities, one at Graham Dam at the south end of the lake, another at Fletchers Landing on the east shore and the third at the extreme northwestern portion of the lake, at Morrison Knoll.