Fishing at Davitt Pond, Rensselaer County, New York

• Overview

  Set in Rensselaer County, New York, this is Davitt Pond. The country here is rolling bush. Small at around 23 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. 1.9 miles away sits Poestenkill, the nearest town. Albany sits 12 miles out, and it is the nearest city worth the name. No border sits close enough to matter. The water is easy to walk round in a long session.

• Where to Fish on Davitt Pond

  Depth figures are not published for this one. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Rensselaer County records list brown trout, common carp, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel and yellow bullhead among the fish reported. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Davitt Pond the obvious spot is not always the productive one.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 20°F in January to roughly 69°F in July. The middle months are generous; the ends are demanding. Winter locks it down, and early April brings it back. The water is typically free of ice between early April and mid December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Plan any trip to Davitt Pond around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. A toilet block sits half a mile away. Season dates differ by species, so read the table. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. Should this one be busy, Bernie Pond is 1.6 miles off. Where Davitt Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.