Brann’s Mills Pond

Close to Home

 

There’s a pond that is close to my home that attracts fishermen and sightseers year round.  In the winter, the fisherman who drill holes to lure pickerel abound in large numbers and in spring, lures and bobbers fly through the air to try to catch hornpout, perch and bass from the shores.  As summer comes, the bass are away from shore and kayaks and canoes dot the blue-grey waters.

 

Brann’s Mills Pond in located in beautiful Piscataquis County and easily accessed from Route 7 between Dexter and Dover-Foxcroft. There is a public boat ramp as well as an opportunity to fish from onshore at the boat landing. It is a common sight to drive along the road to the boat landing and see many families fishing at the “culvert” next to the boat landing. It is certainly not uncommon to see all members of the fishing party swatting the voracious Maine black flies and mosquitoes that lay in wait there for some fresh meat.

 

A great deal of the shoreline has no shoreline roads and there are not a lot of camps or homes on the pond, which makes it particularly appealing.  The lower end of the pond is in the village of Brann’s Mills, which is not a town, per se, just a term for the area that locals know. There used to be a saw mill and a shingle mill located in the village and remnants of the dam which gave them power are still visible.  The village is quaint and laid-back, with just three or four beautiful old homes there. Some patriot puts an American Flag on a log that lies across the water every year.

 

The road was built upon a natural geological esker which is a natural mound left by the retreating glaciers from long ago. The upper end of Brann’s Mills Pond is more of a marshland, with channels that make it easily navigated in a canoe or kayak.

 

            There are numerous islands in the pond and they are all pristine and uninhabited by man.  The water is deep, clear and boulder-strewn.

 

            Brann’s Mills is a lovely springtime retreat, if only for an evening ride.  It is not uncommon to see turkey and deer in the twilight, and not impossible to see partridge on the sides of the road gathering gravel for their crops. In the summer, turtles often gather on the sides of the road; in fall, glorious leaves show their splendor.  In the winter, the solitude and desolation have a beauty that is hard to explain; it’s lovely to see but I wouldn’t want to have to live there through Maine’s long, hard winters.

 

            There are no restaurants, no lodging, no picnic or rest room facilities.  Brann’s Mills Pond is just a lovely detour and a nice breath of needed fresh air.