Fishing at Messer Pond, Merrimack County, New Hampshire

• Overview

  Merrimack County, New Hampshire, is where Messer Pond sits. Everything around it is mixed forest. It runs to roughly 72 acres — big enough to hold fish away from the bank, small enough to learn. Few waters listed in Merrimack County are bigger. New London sits 1.4 miles from here and is the nearest stop. For a city, Manchester is 39 miles off. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Messer Pond

  Depth is not on record here, which means reading the ground instead. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Bays and points beat straight shoreline every time on water like this. County-wide records name rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout and rainbow smelt. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. The near bank of Messer Pond is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 68°F at the top of summer and 18°F at the bottom of winter. Seasons are distinct, and each one fishes differently. Winter fishing happens on the ice here, with open water back around early April. Break-up near early April, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. The season on Messer Pond follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether the bank is open is not something our records settle. There is a car park, Clark Pond Natural Area Trailhead Parking, half a mile from the bank. Messer Pond runs up to the bank here, which usually means extra restrictions. Some banks are open only from a marked point. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. Failing this one, try Clark Pond, 1 mile away. Nothing here settles the position at Messer Pond for certain.