Pattee Pond, Winslow, Maine: Lakefront Property Owners Find Fast Fishing Fun

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Pattee Pond, Winslow, Maine: Lakefront Property Owners Find Fast Fishing Fun

Calm Waters on Pattee Pond in Winslow, Maine

Pattee Pond in the Belgrade Lakes Region town of Winslow, Maine, plays host to cozy lakefront cottages, cabins and camps for weekend, month or season-length getaways.


Named for Ezekiel Pattee, a trader and merchant who settled in the area, the pond encompasses 523 acres and has a maximum depth of 27 feet, with a mean depth of 15 feet. The 6.3 mile perimeter includes many coves and inlets awaiting your exploration via canoe or kayak. Towering pines shade much of the shoreline, especially on the eastern side.
The warmwater fishery supports smallmouth bass, white perch and chain pickerel. Pattee Pond is a great place to introduce kids to fishing as the action is fast-paced.
Though Pattee Pond is naturally tea-brown in color, it has a history of impaired water quality, which is being addressed. In 2008, the Colby College Environmental Assessment Team “investigated the impact of land use patterns on the water quality of Pattee Pond.” The team determined that “Trends in Pattee Pond water quality suggest an improvement since the 1970s. However, the lake is still experiencing algal blooms resulting from phosphorus concentrations over 12 to 15 ppb. Furthermore, Pattee Pond is on the Chapter 502 Maine DEP List of Lakes Most at Risk from New Development and the Maine DEP Nonpoint Source Priority Watershed List.” Recently, Scott Monroe reported in the Morning Sentinel that Winslow was considering making zoning changes to protect the pond and that the DEP has awarded a grant for homeowners to make improvements to buffer strips, camp roads and septic systems to decrease the amount of phosphorus and other pollutants from reaching the pond. With these improvements, the water quality is slowly being restored.
Built in 1754 at the confluence of the Sebasticook and Kennebec Rivers, Fort Halifax and the oldest blockhouse in the United States, are located in Winslow. The blockhouse was supervised by General John Winslow, a descendant of Edward Winslow who was a passenger on the Mayflower. In 1775, Benedict Arnold stopped at Fort Halifax on his unfortunate trip to invade Canada.
In 1923, Camp Winslow for Boys was established on a 200-acre peninsula on Pattee Pond. Though the name was eventually changed to Camp Caribou, the tradition of teaching boys to develop tangible life skills remains unchanged.
More recently, Hollywood came to Winslow. Waterfront property owners take pride in showing friends where some scenes for the 2005 miniseries Empire Falls, based on Richard Russo’s book of the same name and starring the late Paul Newman, Ed Harris and Helen Hunt, were filmed.
Winslow is close to Augusta and Waterville. It’s also a central location for visiting nationally known tourist attractions such as Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Camden, Rockland and Boothbay Harbor. LL Bean in Freeport is about an hour away.
Don’t miss the opportunity to share some fun fishing action with your kids or grandkids. And while you are at it, join the fight to improve the water quality of Pattee Pond. To search for  lakefront properties for sale on Pattee Pond, click on the green box above.
To learn more about what you can do to help improve water quality, click on the blog links below.
Preventing Our Maine Lakes From Becoming Polluted
Maine Lakes’ Health Reflected in the Color of Water
Maine Lakefront Owners Need to Know About Buffer Zone Management
Maine Lakefront Property Owners Maintain Camp Roads for Healthy Lakes
Rain Gardens Save Water Quality for Maine Lakefront Real Estate
Maine Lakes Through the Seasons
Maine Lakefront Property Owners Recognize Value of Water Quality Testing

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