Clear Pond Fishing near Ticonderoga, New York

• Overview

  This water sits in Essex County, New York. The surface lies 1,499 feet up. Small at around 23 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. The nearest place of any size is Ticonderoga, 8.5 miles away. The big place round here is Albany, 83 miles distant. Nearby, in order: Mud Pond within 0.4 miles, 0.6 miles away is Rock Pond, Little Rock Pond within 0.7 miles, 0.7 miles away is North Pond and Putnam Pond within 0.7 miles. The county edge is within a short distance of the bank.

• Where to Fish on Clear Pond

  There is no published depth for this one, so start shallow and work out. 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. Essex County records list brown trout, brook trout and white sucker among the fish reported. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Treat Clear Pond as a water to read rather than to cover.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 17°F to 67°F. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Winter locks it down, and mid April brings it back. The season between ice runs from about mid April to early December. September and October fish steadily right up to the freeze. Plan around that when you fish Clear Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public sources are silent on who controls the bank. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Check locally before you travel, because a wasted drive is a long one. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. Mud Pond, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Clear Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.