Mud Pond Fishing near Woodstock, New Hampshire

• Overview

  Look for Mud Pond in the Grafton County part of New Hampshire. It sits in pine and birch. At roughly 2 acres, the whole thing is within casting reach of a single walk. It is a small entry by Grafton County standards. Some 9.1 miles away sits Woodstock, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Manchester, 78 miles distant. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Mud Pond

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Records held for Grafton County cover rainbow trout, brook trout and smallmouth bass. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Mud Pond the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 64°F in July and bottom out at 14°F in January. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Look to early summer and the first cool weeks of autumn. The season on Mud Pond follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. If the gate is shut, Shadow Lake at 2.1 miles is the nearest alternative. Confirm access to Mud Pond locally before you travel.