Bens Pond Fishing Guide, Franklin County, New York

• Overview

  Bens Pond is one of the Franklin County listings for New York. The water sits 1,499 feet up. About 5 acres of surface, which puts the far bank inside easy sight. It is one of the smaller waters we list in Franklin County. Start from Tupper Lake, 22 miles down the road. Hannawa Falls is 23 miles and Malone 24 miles. No boundary runs near, so the county rules hold throughout.

• Where to Fish on Bens Pond

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Franklin County include brook trout, white sucker and brown trout. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. The near bank of Bens Pond is often the one people ignore.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 13°F in January up to 65°F in July. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near early December in autumn. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Plan any trip to Bens Pond around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access status is simply unknown for this water. No made access is recorded, so a short walk in is the likely arrangement. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. A phone call first saves an afternoon. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, McCavanaugh Pond at 0.7 miles is the nearest alternative. What applies at Bens Pond may have changed since it was mapped.