Fishing at Mud Pond, Washington County, New York

• Overview

  In New York, Mud Pond falls inside Washington County. The water sits 958 feet up. Small at around 3 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Washington County list. Supplies mean a trip to Whitehall, 4.3 miles off. The nearest city of size is Albany, 64 miles away. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Mud Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Washington County include brown trout, white sucker, tessellated darter and pumpkinseed. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Work Mud Pond in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 69°F and January about 19°F. Winter shuts the surface down for months. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from early April. Climate averages put the opening at about early April and the closing near mid December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. On Mud Pond that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Gates get locked out of season on water like this. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. Greenland Pond at 2.1 miles is the sensible second choice. Nothing on Mud Pond should be assumed from this page alone.