Lily Pond Fishing Guide, Middlesex County, Massachusetts

• Overview

  The Middlesex County end of Massachusetts holds Lily Pond. It lies 23 feet above sea level. For a base, Belmont sits 1.4 miles out. Then Watertown, 1.7 miles, and West Somerville/Davis Square, 1.9 miles. Others close at hand: Fresh Pond (0.4 miles), Blacks Nook about 0.4 miles, Claypit Pond (0.7 miles), Halecyon Lake about 1.1 miles and Little River (1.1 miles). A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Lily Pond

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Across Middlesex County, recorded fish include bluegill, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel, yellow perch and common carp. County records show the wider picture rather than this one place. On Lily Pond the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 73°F and January about 27°F. The freeze here is occasional rather than annual. Hard water here is never dependable, so check for yourself before stepping out. Autumn steadies things again once the heat lets go. Lily Pond runs to that rhythm year in and year out.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. There is somewhere to leave the car, half a mile off. Public data records a pier about 0.9 miles out. Facilities run to toilets half a mile from the water. For the pike, wire up and throw larger lures along the weed edges. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. If the gate is shut, Fresh Pond at 0.4 miles is the nearest alternative. For Lily Pond, the notice at the access point is the final word.