Watchic Lake in Standish, Maine – Serene and Abundant with Birds and Fish

Out and About in the Greater Belgrade Lakes Region of Maine January 28 to February 3
January 27, 2010
Thomas Pond, Raymond – Quiet, Maine Getaway, Local Lore, Quality Fishery
January 31, 2010

Watchic Lake in Standish, Maine – Serene and Abundant with Birds and Fish


June sunset on Watchic Lake, Standish
Lakefront properties on Watchic Lake, located just southeast of Sebago Lake in Maine, are ideally suited for those who desire outstanding water recreation such as boating, birding and incredible fishing.

Lakefront Properties For Sale on Watchic Pond

It’s time to live your dreams. You can enjoy unsurpassed serenity only minutes from Portland, Maine. Watchic Lake is located only miles away in Standish. Its close proximity to Portland, the largest city in Maine, means easy access to work, major shopping and cultural events.

Lakefront property on Watchic is convenient to everything, yet Standish retains its rural character. And the lake is only two hours from Boston, making it a perfect getaway for seasonal lakefront property owners.

Birders will be thrilled to see Bald Eagles, Osprey, Loons and a variety of other birds as they paddle or motor about Watchic Lake.

 

And fishing enthusiasts will be delighted with this pristine lake.  Incredible large and smallmouth bass are abundant. White perch and chain pickerel are also great catches. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) introduced largemouth bass into Watchic Pond in 1956. Fifty-four years later, the MDIFW says that the lake provides excellent angling opportunities and includes it on its list of Maine Bass Waters, “a list of some of the many waters in Maine that offer fine bass fishing,” according to Roland D. Martin, Commissioner of MDIFW. Matt Douglas caught a 4.64 pound, 25 1/2 inch pickerel on Watchic Lake during the 2009 Maine Chevy Derby.

The water quality is considered to be average on this small lake that covers 448 acres and has a maximum depth of 48 feet. The lake is spring fed and has two inlets, Page Brook and Paine Brook. The outlet to Watchic Brook, which empties into the nearby Saco River, is controlled by a dam. The dam is a 110’ concrete and earthen structure, originally built in 1850. Today, the dam is owned by the Watchic Lake Association and is voluntarily manned. It’s opened each fall to lower the lake level and closed after ice-out in the spring. During the summer season, the dam is opened as needed. All residents share in the maintenance costs.The Watchic Lake Association was formed to take ownership of the dam and to monitor the water quality of the lake. Eileen Burnell, a long time volunteer with the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitoring Program (MVLMP) said in their “Water Column” newsletter, “My husband, David, and I have been monitoring Watchic Lake in Standish for over 25 years. During that time, we have tried to pass along any lake knowledge that we have learned from the Maine Volunteer Lake Monitor Program to others. Over the past several years, we have been working with Mr. Ned Hatfield, a biology teacher at Bonny Eagle High School, to give some of his students hands-on lab experience as they join us on a monitoring trip out on the lake . . . We are always impressed with the interest shown by the students who come to visit. Since they are our future lake protection, it is truly a pleasure to answer their questions if we can and possibly give them the motivation to help make a difference.”
Over the years, the Watchic Lake Association has received grants to help educate and help lakefront property owners improve the watershed. In conjunction with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, a Watershed Management Plan was developed to “ensure an upgrade and continued improvement in our water quality” in 1998.
More recently, a 319 grant was completed “to protect and improve Watchic Lake’s water quality by reducing sources of polluted runoff in the watershed, providing one-on-one technical assistance to landowners, raising awareness about watershed problems and providing local stewardship.” Technical assistance was given to 12 landowners, and a variety of conservation practices were installed at 13 other demonstration sites.
All lakefront property owners are encouraged to get involved in the Watchic Lake Association “to protect our environment, our lake, and your real estate investment.”
To learn more about lakefront property listings on Watchic Lake, click on the green box above.

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