Cold Spring, New York: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  You will find Cold Spring in Hamilton County, New York. It stands 1,929 feet above sea level. By elevation it is in the upper part of our New York listings. Nearest place of any size is Dolgeville, 15 miles away. The nearest city of size is Albany, 70 miles away. Water in the same corner: North Branch at 0.6 miles, Potter Pond lies 1.1 miles on, Jerseyfield Lake at 1.3 miles, Mud Lake lies 2.1 miles on and Deer Lake at 2.1 miles. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Cold Spring

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. County-wide records name lake trout, brook trout, yellow perch, smallmouth bass and brown bullhead. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. Fish Cold Spring to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 65°F in July and bottom out at 15°F in January. Fishing here follows the temperature more than the calendar. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Cold Spring.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is North Branch, 0.6 miles out. What applies at Cold Spring may have changed since it was mapped.