Hancock Pond has a public boat launch located at the intersection on Hancock Pond Road and Swamp Road in Denmark, ME.
Hancock Pond’s unique shape and wide range of depths provide a variety of different habitats for fish and waterfowl. These qualities and good access make the pond popular with boaters, anglers and wildlife observers.
Careful monitoring and continued boat inspections are needed to ensure that Hancock Pond remains free of invasive aquatic plants such as milfoil. LEA First monitored Hancock Pond in 1975 and continues to monitor water quality biweekly in the open water season and in the winter when the ice is safe.
Click on a program below for the most recent data summary. For descriptions of each program, return to our Lake Look-Up page.
Water Quality Monitoring SummaryHancock Pond surface water chlorophyll (ppb), phosphorus (ppb), and Secchi depth (meters) data comparison. Colored areas represent the long-term range of values, from minimum to maximum. Area thickness indicates frequency of measurements at that value. Area thickness increases as more measurements are reported at that value. The vertical black line represents the long-term average value. The large red dot represents 2025’s average value. The small red dots represent individual readings taken in 2025.
Water Quality overview and methods
2025 as a Year (summary for all lakes)
Winter Water Monitoring Summary2025-2026 data will be available in May
High Resolution Temp. Monitoring SummaryTemperature maps were generated using daily mean temperature values, which help determine temperature across depth and time. Temperature is represented by colored contours, where the red to blue color range corresponds to a high to low temperature range. The vertical bar on the right side of the temperature map indicates the temperature each color represents in degrees Fahrenheit (°F). The horizontal axis shows the months sensors were deployed, while the left-hand vertical axis shows sensor depth (meters) below the water’s surface.
Temperature stratification shows up as areas of the plot where colors change in the vertical direction and contour lines are tilted more towards horizontal (from June through early November). The area where temperature changes most rapidly with depth is often referred to as the thermocline. Vertical contour lines indicate mixed conditions, and areas of a single color from top to bottom (such as late-October into November) indicate completely mixed conditions. Warm, stratified conditions stand out as darker red areas. Large gaps between lines means there is a large temperature difference between depths.
High Resolution Temperature Monitoring Methods and Reading Graphs
Algae Monitoring SummaryGraphs have been included for each test site to visually compare fluorometer, temperature, and oxygen profiles from May through September. The vertical axis (y-axis) indicates depth below the surface, while the horizontal axis (x-axis) represents reported values. Three different parameters are being reported on the same graph, which results in the value units for the horizontal axis varying, based on parameter. Units are noted in parentheses in the legend.
LEA also has active Courtesy Boat Inspection and LakeSmart programs on Hancock Pond and offers technical assistance to landowners through Clean Lake Check Ups.
Hancock Pond is a good fishing spot year-round due to the variety and size of fish found within its waters. Brown trout is the most common coldwater fish in the pond. Brown trout fishing is good during early spring and throughout the ice fishing season fair catches are reported. Although brown trout are more tolerant of low oxygen conditions than most of their relatives, they must be stocked annually to maintain the population. Smelts provide good action during the winter season and some ardent smelt fishermen have good luck fishing for them during the summer. Both species of bass are numerous in the lake and it is not rare to catch fish weighing up to 3 and 4 pounds. Lake trout were stocked in the pond during the 1980s and brook trout have been caught in its waters as well. Other fish found in the pond include: rainbow smelt, chain pickerel, golden shiners, common shiners, fallfish, white suckers, hornpout, banded killifish, pumpkinseed sunfish, redbreast sunfish, slimy sculpin, American eel, and landlocked alewife.
General fishing laws apply, except: From October 1 – December 31: ALO (Artificial lures only), S-7 (All trout, landlocked salmon, and togue caught must be released alive at once).
After a successful survey of the watershed to identify erosion sites and raise public awareness about water quality problems, LEA partnered with the Hancock and Sand Pond Association and Cumberland County Soil and Water Conservation District to correct some of the highest priority sites that were found. Through this grant, large conservation practices were installed on the West Shore Road, Wabanaki Road and Sand Pond Way. A significant portion of the grant was also used to address problems associated with residential properties.
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