Johnson Pond in Lewis County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Johnson Pond lies within the bounds of Lewis County, New York. The ground around here is pine and birch. It is pond-in-a-field scale, with the far bank a short lob away. It is a small entry by Lewis County standards. The nearest place of any size is Carthage, 11 miles away. The nearest city of size is Kingston, 50 miles away. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Johnson Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Survey and observation records for Lewis County include white sucker, brown trout, pumpkinseed, brook trout and brown bullhead. It is the county picture; the agency list is water-specific. Johnson Pond gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Expect July to average close to 67°F, with January the cold end at about 16°F. The freeze arrives properly here and holds. Ice is part of the season here, ending near mid April. Open water usually runs from mid April until about early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. Keep it in mind when planning a trip to Johnson Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing we hold confirms whether access is permitted. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. The nearest alternative is Onjebonge Pond, 0.3 miles out. Treat access at Johnson Pond as something to verify.