North Pond Fishing in Hampden County, Massachusetts

• Overview

  Hampden County, Massachusetts, is where North Pond sits. This is pine and birch ground. The town to know is Southwick, 1.1 miles out. The big place round here is Springfield, 9.3 miles distant. Also worth knowing: Congamond Lakes some 1.5 miles off, Spencer Pond at about 1.9 miles, South Pond some 2.2 miles off, Limon Pond at about 2.2 miles and Harts Pond some 2.2 miles off. This one sits near enough to a boundary to be worth checking.

• Where to Fish on North Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. A reservoir gives you a hard edge, a shelf, and not much else. Open biodiversity records for Hampden County list bluegill, white sucker, pumpkinseed and brook trout. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. The shape of North Pond rewards a slow walk along one bank.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 71°F and January reads 24°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. After late March the shallows warm and the fish move up. Ice usually gives way near late March, and forms again about late December. The strongest runs come at either end of the open season. That is the shape of the year on North Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Parking is close: a car park sits half a mile from the bank. Public data records a pier about half a mile out. Mapping records toilets within half a mile. This falls in or next to protected ground, so rules will be tighter than usual. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Congamond Lakes sits 1.5 miles off and takes the overflow. Where North Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.