Mud Pond near Sunapee: Fishing Spots, Seasons and Access

• Overview

  Mud Pond sits in Merrimack County, out in New Hampshire. This is lake country bush country. About 10 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. On size it sits at the modest end of our Merrimack County list. 2.5 miles away sits Sunapee, the nearest town. Newbury lies 3 miles off, Newport another 4.8 miles. A county line runs close by, so local bylaws can differ within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Mud Pond

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Merrimack County list rainbow trout, largemouth bass and smallmouth bass. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. Treat Mud Pond as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 68°F and January at 18°F. Cold locks it up for a good stretch each year. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about early April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about early April until roughly mid December. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. That is the shape of the year on Mud Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  The paperwork position is blank for this one. The nearest mapped parking is half a mile away, so the last stretch is on foot. There is a mapped landing stage half a mile away. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking space is the usual limit rather than the bank itself. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Mountainview Lake sits 0.4 miles off and takes the overflow. For Mud Pond in particular, ask before you travel.