Pro Pete Gluszek offers Cobbossee fishing advice.
By Capt. Steve Chaconas
Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, Lake Cobbosseecontee! “The place where sturgeon is found”, Lake Cobbosseecontee, Maine is where Native Americans fished for sturgeon. Today it’s loaded with bass!
Bass fishing Meccas usually offer great largemouth or smallmouth fishing, seldom both. For largemouth, head south. For smallmouth, head north. Now you should seriously consider heading northeast!
Surprisingly enough, Maine’s bass population in Lake Cobbosseecontee packs a one-two punch with quality smallmouth and largemouth bass! Touted as having the “best bass fishing in Maine”, the 5,500 acres of clear water with pine-lined shores make for a magnificent fishing adventure. About a 45-minute drive from Portland airport, Lake Cobbossee (locally shortened nickname) is worth the travel.
I had looked forward to hooking up with what I truly expected to be a smallmouth venture. I knew I would at least be hooking up with awesome food! I wasn’t disappointed! Fish chowder, steamed clams, corn on the cob, blueberry pie and the Maine course, lobster! If lobsters could fly, they would be Maine’s state bird.
While a few small dams expanded the surface area, Cobbossee, a nearly natural lake for fishing and water recreation, was excavated millions of years ago by Ice Age glaciers. Prehistoric ice plows created rock ridges throughout Cobbossee. Clearly marked, these ancient fish attractors are still doing their job. Fishing at Cobbossee is almost like shooting fish in a barrel. Quality largemouth must not have received word they’re not supposed to be above the Mason-Dixon line.
This lake is not tough to figure out, with 4, 5 and 6 pounders where they should be…shallow grass, docks and on points. Largemouth bass fall prey to power fishing in the grass.
Smallmouth are numerous along the rocky shoals. Electronics reveal rock piles where drop shotting entices smallmouth to bite. Tube baits are effective for shallow largemouth and deeper smallmouth bass.
For 27 years, Andy and Sheree Wess operated The Lakeside Motel, Cabins and Marina on the shores of Cobbossee. They raised their kids in the family business that has become a business of families. Two families purchased Lakeside about three years ago and are reminded of the heritage they’ve inherited by nearly daily visits from former owner Andy.
Lake vacationers make this their summer home away from home. They really have it all: canoes (free to guests), pontoon and bass boat rentals, even a free ramp and docking for guests. Feeling like you’re in the home of a relative, rooms are very clean, comfortable and reasonably affordable because most of their clients are middle class and bring their kids. The ocean is just 45 minutes away and these rooms, with and without kitchenettes, are much less expensive than the coast!
A short 10-minute drive up the highway is a shopper’s paradise, Freeport home of L.L. Bean and several top outlet stores. Augusta is only five minutes away where dining in every range is available! Once checked in, you’ll feel like you are in the country. Only minutes away from anything, yet seemingly like you’re away from everything.
The Lakeside Motel is your vacation home (without the mortgage). Rooms are fully furnished with personal touches and that famous northern hospitality to complete your Maine family fishing experience. Fishing, food and proximity to shopping and the beach really make Lake Cobbosseecontee the Maine event!
