Buck Pond in Franklin County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  In New York, Buck Pond falls inside Franklin County. Height above sea level is 1,660 feet. At about 131 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The bank runs about 1.6 miles all the way round, so one visit can cover most of it. Saranac Lake is the closest town at 12 miles. Lake Placid follows at 17 miles, then North Elba at 20 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Buck Pond

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Franklin County include brook trout, white sucker, brown trout and yellow perch. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. Read Buck Pond before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 64°F and January about 13°F. Four clear seasons, with a proper winter at one end. Count the season from break-up, usually late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. The middle of summer slows a little, with dawn and dusk carrying it. That is the shape of the year on Buck Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. Parking sits half a mile out, which makes for a walk with tackle. There is a campsite half a mile from the water. 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. Close seasons apply to some species and not others. Failing this one, try Lake Kushaqua, 0.7 miles away. For Buck Pond, the notice at the access point is the final word.