Fishing James Pond in Carroll County, New Hampshire

• Overview

  New Hampshire holds James Pond, in Carroll County. The ground around here is mixed forest. It covers about 11 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. Most waters listed here for Carroll County are larger. 3.5 miles away sits Tamworth, the nearest town. After that come Madison at 6.2 miles and Conway at 8.9 miles. The nearest boundary is well away, so one set of rules covers the water.

• Where to Fish on James Pond

  Our records carry no depth, so judge it from the bank. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Survey and observation records for Carroll County include rainbow trout, brown trout, smallmouth bass, rainbow smelt and Atlantic salmon. Protected fish appear in the records for this area, so treat the list as information, not an invitation. At James Pond the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 68°F in July and bottom out at 18°F in January. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early April. The water is typically free of ice between early April and early December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. Expect James Pond to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Forrester A. Clark Reserve covers this ground, which means extra rules to check. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Should this one be busy, Lonely Lake is 1.2 miles off. Where James Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.