Fishing at Little Otter Pond, St. Lawrence County, New York

• Overview

  Set in St. Lawrence County, New York, this is Little Otter Pond. This is rolling bush country. It covers about 9 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. It is a small entry by St. Lawrence County standards. Gouverneur is the closest town at 27 miles. The big place round here is Kingston, 73 miles distant. The nearest boundary is a fair way off.

• Where to Fish on Little Otter Pond

  No figure exists for depth, so let the water show you. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Across St. Lawrence County, recorded fish include rock bass, smallmouth bass, pumpkinseed and yellow perch. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Fish Little Otter Pond to its features, not to its size.

• Seasonal Patterns

  In an average year July sits at 65°F and January at 14°F. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. The lid arrives early and lasts until roughly mid April. Going by climate averages, expect open water from about mid April until roughly early December. The weeks after the thaw and the ones before the freeze are the strongest. At Little Otter Pond the season follows that pattern closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  Whether you may fish here is not something records settle. This sits inside Buck Pond Primitive Area, so read the reserve notices first. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Keep proof of licence with you rather than in the car. For a change of water, Otter Pond is 1.2 miles distant. None of that is settled for Little Otter Pond in what we hold.