Cooks Pond Fishing in Carroll County, New Hampshire

• Overview

  Cooks Pond is set in Carroll County, New Hampshire. The bank gives way to pine and birch. It measures about 34 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. The nearest town is Madison, 2.9 miles away. After that come Tamworth at 5.6 miles and Freedom at 6.5 miles. Near neighbours include: Silver Lake 1.2 miles off, Durgin Pond sits 1.6 miles out, Trout Pond 1.6 miles off, Moores Pond sits 2.4 miles out and Mack Pond 2.9 miles off. One jurisdiction covers this water end to end.

• Where to Fish on Cooks Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Public occurrence data for Carroll County names rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass and rainbow smelt. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. Cooks Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 68°F, while January sits near 18°F. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early April. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early April and starts locking again about mid December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Plan around that when you fish Cooks Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Goodwin-Burke Town Forest covers this ground, which means extra rules to check. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Signs go up and come down, so check on the day. Silver Lake at 1.2 miles is the sensible second choice. Confirm before you fish Cooks Pond.