Frank Pond in Hamilton County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Out in Hamilton County, New York, sits Frank Pond. The bank gives way to pine and birch. With some 27 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. Nearest place of any size is Tupper Lake, 20 miles away. Saranac Lake lies 37 miles off, Lake Placid another 41 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Frank Pond

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Species logged across Hamilton County include lake trout, brook trout and yellow perch. County data is a starting point rather than a guarantee. The shape of Frank Pond decides where the fish sit.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 64°F at the top of summer and 13°F at the bottom of winter. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about early December in a typical year. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. At Frank Pond the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Take the rules with you rather than trusting memory. Where parking is tight, arriving early solves most problems. If the gate is shut, Little Salmon Lake at 0.6 miles is the nearest alternative. Ask locally about Frank Pond if anything is unclear.