Lily Pond Fishing near Lyme, New Hampshire

• Overview

  Set in Grafton County, Lily Pond is a New Hampshire water. What surrounds it is rolling bush. Surface area runs to about 7 acres — small enough to read in one session. On size it sits at the modest end of our Grafton County list. Supplies mean a trip to Lyme, 4.6 miles off. It is 66 miles to Manchester, the nearest city. Rules can differ a short way off, since the county line is near.

• Where to Fish on Lily Pond

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Survey and observation records for Grafton County include rainbow trout, brook trout, smallmouth bass, brown trout and largemouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Lily Pond gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 66°F at the top of summer and 16°F at the bottom of winter. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Break-up sits around mid April on average, with the water closing again about early December. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Expect Lily Pond to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Nothing is listed nearby for parking or launching a boat. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Check whether a boat is allowed before you tow one. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Mason Pond at 1.4 miles is the sensible second choice. For Lily Pond in particular, ask before you travel.