Fishing Rudd Pond in Dutchess County, New York

• Overview

  Set in Dutchess County, Rudd Pond is a New York water. The water sits 791 feet up. With some 73 acres of water, there is room for a boat but no need of one. The full circuit measures close to 1.7 miles on foot. Size puts it in the front rank of our Dutchess County list. Pine Plains lies 7.8 miles from the water. Canaan follows at 9.6 miles, then Sheffield at 12 miles. A county line runs close by, so local bylaws can differ within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Rudd Pond

  No chart reached our records; the first cast is your sounding. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Dutchess County records list common carp, bluegill, brown trout, goldfish and tessellated darter among the fish reported. The county list is broader than any single water. At Rudd Pond the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  July is the warm end of the year here, averaging about 69°F, while January sits near 22°F. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. Count the season from break-up, usually late March. Break-up near late March, freeze-up near mid December: that is the shape of an average year. The shoulder weeks of the open season are the productive ones. The season on Rudd Pond rarely departs from it.

• Tackle & Baits

  We have no record of the rules that apply on this bank. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. Launch at Rudd Pond, half a mile from the water. You will be walking about half a mile from the nearest car park. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some water is controlled locally without a sign saying so. Lakeville Reservoir Number 2 at 1.6 miles is the sensible second choice. What applies at Rudd Pond may have changed since it was mapped.