Fishing Bigsby Pond in Essex County, New York

• Overview

  Bigsby Pond belongs to Essex County, New York. Rolling bush runs right down to the water. With some 48 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The bank runs about 1.2 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Head to Ticonderoga, 24 miles away, for anything you forgot. The big place round here is Albany, 82 miles distant. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Bigsby Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Essex County records list brown trout, brook trout, white sucker, pumpkinseed and yellow perch among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Take Bigsby Pond a stretch at a time.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate records put July near 65°F and January near 15°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Break-up comes around mid April, and the run that follows is short and strong. Break-up near mid April, freeze-up near early December: that is the shape of an average year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Bigsby Pond fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Access is not recorded for this water. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. Nothing in the way of made access shows up nearby: no ramp, no car park, no path. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Oliver Pond at 0.6 miles is the sensible second choice. Treat access at Bigsby Pond as something to verify.