Fishing Tom Pond in Merrimack County, New Hampshire

• Overview

  Tom Pond belongs to Merrimack County, New Hampshire. It sits at 394 feet above sea level. The water covers some 32 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. The full circuit measures close to 1.1 miles on foot. Contoocook sits 2.9 miles from the bank. The big place round here is Manchester, 23 miles distant. Rules here are straightforward: one county, one set of rules.

• Where to Fish on Tom Pond

  The records we hold are silent on depth, so plan to find it yourself. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Merrimack County include rainbow trout, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, brown trout and rainbow smelt. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. At Tom Pond light and wind decide more than tackle does.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July near 69°F and January near 20°F on the long-run figures. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Expect a solid lid for months and a thaw around early April. The lid tends to go about early April and return around mid December. From the thaw to midsummer the fishing improves week by week. The season on Tom Pond follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Davisville State Forest runs up to the bank here, which usually means extra restrictions. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules differ from one water to the next round here. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Pleasant Pond sits 0.6 miles off and takes the overflow. For Tom Pond, the notice at the access point is the final word.