Porter Lake in Hampden County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Porter Lake in Hampden County, Massachusetts. What surrounds it is pine and birch. Surface area is around 28 acres, which gives you real water without needing a boat. Start from Longmeadow, 1.9 miles down the road. It is 2.5 miles to Springfield, the nearest city. You are close to a county edge here; who manages the access can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Porter Lake

  Our records hold no depth for this water. 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. Fish documented in Hampden County include bluegill, white sucker, pumpkinseed, brook trout and tessellated darter. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Fish Porter Lake where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 72°F for July and 25°F for January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late March. In an average year the thaw lands around late March and the freeze near late December. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. Anyone fishing Porter Lake regularly works to that calendar.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. There is a car park at Camp STAR Angelina Lot, roughly half a mile away. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. For a change of water, Country Club Pond is 2.1 miles distant. Confirm before you fish Porter Lake.