Clark Pond Fishing near Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts

• Overview

  Clark Pond belongs to Essex County, Massachusetts. Salt water lies 0.8 miles off. This is a pocket water of some 9 acres, and every part of it is reachable from the bank. It lies lower than most water we list in Massachusetts. Head to Manchester-by-the-Sea, 2.3 miles away, for anything you forgot. Boston sits 23 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. There is no boundary nearby to worry about.

• Where to Fish on Clark Pond

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. Salt or brackish and tidal: fish the flow, rest at slack, and watch the mud on a falling tide. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Survey and observation records for Essex County include Atlantic cod, alewife, bluegill and striped bass. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. Fish Clark Pond where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 71°F, while January sits near 27°F. The year turns gently, without extremes at either end. It is not guaranteed even in a cold spell, so check yourself. The cooler months are the comfortable ones to fish here. That is the shape of the year on Clark Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing in our records says who may fish here. The slipway at Kettle Cove Landing is half a mile away. Parking is mapped about half a mile from the bank. Public data records a pier about half a mile out. Coolidge Reservation covers this ground, which means extra rules to check. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Barbless rules turn up on managed water more often than not. Failing this one, try West Pond, 0.7 miles away. For Clark Pond, the notice at the access point is the final word.