Fishing at Parce Pond, Dutchess County, New York

• Overview

  Parce Pond is a Dutchess County water, in New York. The bank gives way to pine and birch. The water measures roughly 8 acres, so nothing here is far from anything else. Pawling is the closest town at 1.7 miles. The nearest city of size is North Stamford, 30 miles away. The boundary is close enough to be worth checking before you fish.

• Where to Fish on Parce Pond

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Fish documented in Dutchess County include common carp, bluegill, brown trout, goldfish and tessellated darter. What holds for the county may not hold for this water. On Parce Pond the first feature you find is usually worth a session.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warmest month averages 71°F, the coldest about 25°F. Winter closes the water for a while, and the reopening is worth catching. Ice-out usually falls in late March, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On the long-run averages the water opens up around late March and starts locking again about late December. Reckon on open water from spring through to late autumn, with May and June the strongest. On Parce Pond that shapes the whole year.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Mapping shows an empty shoreline: no ramp, no jetty, no marked entry. A small crankbait along the drop and a worm in the thick stuff cover the bass. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. For a change of water, Little Whaley Lake is 0.9 miles distant. Nothing here settles the position at Parce Pond for certain.