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Home › Waters › Maine › Aroostook River
River · North-central Aroostook County, the upper Aroostook valley above Ashland and Masardis · Maine

Aroostook River Fishing Guides

Maine's largest northern river outside the St. John, with wild brook trout in the upper valley and smallmouth and muskellunge below.

A New England river running past a sandbar below low mountains in autumn

Map of the Aroostook River

23 numbered points: 8 access points, 1 bait & fly shop, 1 outfitter, 7 bridges, 3 parks and conservation areas, 1 agency office, 1 hazard, 1 USGS gauge. Tap a marker for details. Reviewed Sep 25, 2026.

Printable version →
  • Access / boat ramp (8)
  • Bait, tackle & fly shop (1)
  • Outfitter / canoe rental (1)
  • Bridge crossing (7)
  • Park / conservation area (3)
  • Agency / conservation office (1)
  • Dam / hazard (1)
  • USGS gauge (1)
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Points are curated from OpenStreetMap and state agency sources; confirm access and hours before you go.

Print it. Bag it. Bring it.Phones die, screens crack, and most of this water has no signal. Print this map, fold it into a zip-top bag or dry bag with your license, and you have a backup your electronics can’t give you. Every marker is numbered so you can say exactly where you are.

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All 23 points on this map
#PointTypeLat, LonNotes
1Aroostook River hand-carry access
Upper river between Oxbow and Masardis		Access / boat ramp46.42822, -68.55272Unnamed slipway in OSM.
2Shephard Rips
Rips on the upper river		Dam / hazard46.47726, -68.45115
3Masardis Ranger Station
Ranger station, Masardis		Agency / conservation office46.49318, -68.37336
4Masardis boat launch
Slipway at Masardis		Access / boat ramp46.50406, -68.36268Unnamed slipway in OSM.
5USGS gauge 01015800 - Aroostook River near Masardis
Live stage and discharge		USGS gauge46.52306, -68.37167
6Garfield Road
Crossing beside the gauge		Bridge crossing46.52319, -68.37211
7Pollard Flat Wildlife Management Area
Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife		Park / conservation area46.53415, -68.37891
8Gateway Trading Post
Outdoor store, Ashland		Bait, tackle & fly shop46.63146, -68.43030
9Station Street
Route 11 crossing, Ashland		Bridge crossing46.63202, -68.41877
10Ashland boat launch
Slipway at Ashland		Access / boat ramp46.63418, -68.41750Unnamed slipway in OSM.
11Ashland Community Memorial Park
Town park		Park / conservation area46.63059, -68.40180
12Portage Road
Route 11 crossing above Ashland		Bridge crossing46.65194, -68.42221
13Thomas Brewer Memorial Park boat launch
Washburn		Access / boat ramp46.77604, -68.15528Launch inside Thomas Brewer Memorial Park.
14South Wade Road
Crossing at Washburn		Bridge crossing46.77582, -68.15407
15Aroostook River Access - Presque Isle
City river access and launch		Access / boat ramp46.70383, -68.00600
16Main Street
US 1 crossing, Presque Isle		Bridge crossing46.70332, -68.00847
17Perception of Aroostook
Paddlesport shop, Presque Isle		Outfitter / canoe rental46.70540, -68.00731
18Fort Street
Route 161 crossing, Caribou		Bridge crossing46.85383, -68.00285
19Caribou boat launch
Slipway at Caribou		Access / boat ramp46.85551, -68.00309Unnamed slipway in OSM.
20Veteran's Memorial Park
Caribou riverfront park		Park / conservation area46.85807, -68.01003
21Forbes Pit Boat Launch
Between Caribou and Fort Fairfield		Access / boat ramp46.82443, -67.92126
22Bridge Street
US 1A crossing, Fort Fairfield		Bridge crossing46.77364, -67.83349
23Aroostook River Access - Fort Fairfield
Town river access and launch		Access / boat ramp46.77326, -67.82802Lowest US access above the New Brunswick line.

Guides on the Aroostook River

Claimed profiles take booking requests. Unclaimed profiles are built from public records so the river is never empty; the guide can claim or remove one any time.

Order on this page: premium and outfitter plans first (labelled Premium placement), then claimed free profiles, then unclaimed — one published price, no bidding for position. How placement works

About the Aroostook River

The Aroostook River rises in the commercial forest west of Ashland and runs east across the whole width of Aroostook County before crossing into New Brunswick at Fort Fairfield. The gauge near Masardis sits high in that run, above the farm country, where the river is still gathering water from the Machias, the St. Croix Stream and the other forest tributaries that give the upper valley its character. It is a big river by northern Maine standards and a remote one along most of its length.

Two fisheries share the drainage and they do not overlap much. The upper river and its tributaries hold wild brook trout, and those reaches are the reason anglers make the drive. Downstream of Ashland the river warms and broadens, and smallmouth bass become the practical target through the summer months, with muskellunge now established through the lower drainage and the New Brunswick reaches below it. Landlocked salmon show up seasonally where the cold tributaries enter.

The river is paddled as much as it is waded. A canoe covers the water between the few road crossings far more efficiently than walking does, and the stretch from Masardis down toward Ashland is the one most often floated. Access points are spread out, so a day here is usually planned as a float between two known landings rather than as a series of short walk-ins from the road.

Timing follows the snow. The upper Aroostook runs hard and cold into May, and the wild trout fishing is at its best once that water drops but before midsummer heat pushes fish into the tributary mouths. September brings the water back down to a good level and the trout back into the main river. The gauge at Masardis is the honest read on whether the float is worth the drive.

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Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

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  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
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  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Flow alert

Tell me when the Aroostook River cfs

Now: 85.1 cfs, read 7:15 am CST, Mon Nov 2, 2026 (USGS 01015800, Aroostook River near Masardis, Maine).

We never use this address for anything else and never share it. See the privacy policy.

Access

Masardis - the gauge reach, with a bridge crossing and roadside access.
Ashland - the main town on the river, with a launch and supplies.
Sheridan - bank access on the reach between Ashland and Washburn.
St. Croix Stream confluence - a cold tributary mouth worth fishing in summer.
Machias River confluence - the largest upper tributary, reached above Masardis.
Oxbow - upstream access to the remote reach above the gauge.
Washburn - the downstream end of the smallmouth water, with a public landing.

Seasons

Spring: high, cold and pushy into May, with the best trout fishing coming as it drops.
Summer: smallmouth through the lower river, with trout holding at cold tributary mouths.
Fall: falling water and cooler temperatures bring wild brook trout back into the main river.
Winter: closed to open-water fishing through the cold months in most of the drainage.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the Aroostook River?

As of Nov 2, 7:15 am, the USGS gauge Aroostook River near Masardis, Maine reads 85 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the Aroostook River?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Burbot, Chain Pickerel, Landlocked Atlantic Salmon, Muskellunge, Smallmouth Bass on the Aroostook River in Maine.

Are there fishing guides on the Aroostook River?

GuidedFloats lists 1 guide and outfitters on the Aroostook River. Claimed profiles accept booking requests; unclaimed profiles are built from public records and link to the business.

Where can you access the Aroostook River?

Masardis - the gauge reach, with a bridge crossing and roadside access. Ashland - the main town on the river, with a launch and supplies. Sheridan - bank access on the reach between Ashland and Washburn. St. Croix Stream confluence - a cold tributary mouth worth fishing in summer. Machias River confluence - the largest upper tributary, reached above Masardis. Oxbow - upstream access to the remote reach above the gauge. Washburn - the downstream end of the smallmouth water, with a public landing.

When is the best time to fish the Aroostook River?

Spring: high, cold and pushy into May, with the best trout fishing coming as it drops. Summer: smallmouth through the lower river, with trout holding at cold tributary mouths. Fall: falling water and cooler temperatures bring wild brook trout back into the main river. Winter: closed to open-water fishing through the cold months in most of the drainage.

Where are the fishing regulations for the Aroostook River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Maine agency site: https://www.maine.gov/ifw/fishing-boating/fishing/laws-rules.html