Fishing at North Pond, Sullivan County, New York

• Overview

  The Sullivan County entry here is North Pond, in New York. Elevation runs to 2,103 feet. Around 58 acres of surface means several distinct areas to work. A shoreline of some 1.1 miles keeps the choices simple. It is high ground by New York standards. Livingston Manor is the closest town at 6.1 miles. Then Liberty, 6.9 miles, and Fallsburg, 13 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on North Pond

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. On a natural lake the weed line and the shelf beyond it do the work. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. Across Sullivan County, recorded fish include brown trout, brook trout and smallmouth bass. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. On North Pond the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-run averages give July about 66°F and January about 20°F. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. The lid usually goes in early April, which opens the strongest weeks of the year. On the long-run averages the water opens up around early April and starts locking again about mid December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. North Pond fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. Records list it as a natural water body rather than an impoundment. There is a car park, Elko Lake, half a mile from the bank. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Bank access can be seasonal on ground like this. Check whether bait restrictions apply before you buy any. Hunter Pond, 1.1 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Signs at North Pond carry more weight than any list.