Mathews Pond in Capitol Planning Region: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In Connecticut, Mathews Pond belongs to Capitol Planning Region. Height above sea level is 873 feet. The water measures roughly 9 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Compared with other Connecticut water on our list, it sits high. The nearest town is Stafford, 3.5 miles away. Springfield sits 21 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Mathews Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The old creek line under the surface is the feature worth finding. Draw-down through summer strips the margins, so follow the water out. Fish documented in Capitol Planning Region include bluegill, pumpkinseed, yellow perch and chain pickerel. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Fish Mathews Pond to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Between January at about 23°F and July at about 69°F, the water has a wide range to work through. The year splits cleanly: hard water, then open water. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. The lid tends to go about early April and return around late December. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. Anyone fishing Mathews Pond regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No made access appears within a short radius, so plan to park on a verge and walk. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Should this one be busy, New Pond is 0.4 miles off. None of that is settled for Mathews Pond in what we hold.