Second Pond Fishing in Rensselaer County, New York

• Overview

  Rensselaer County, New York, is where Second Pond sits. It lies 1,483 feet above sea level. Roughly 29 acres: a morning covers one end, an afternoon the other. Some 6 miles away sits Cropseyville, the nearest settlement. The big place round here is Albany, 18 miles distant. Nearby alternatives: Mill Pond out at 0.3 miles, Long Pond at 0.7 miles, Lake Elizabeth out at 0.9 miles, White Lily Pond at 1 mile and Peckham Pond out at 2.3 miles. No county line comes close, which keeps the paperwork simple.

• Where to Fish on Second Pond

  No published figure covers depth, so learn it as you fish. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Public occurrence data for Rensselaer County names brown trout, common carp, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel and yellow bullhead. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Anyone new to Second Pond should walk it once before setting up.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The year swings from about 19°F in January to roughly 68°F in July. Expect a real winter and a strong spring after it. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Average temperatures cross freezing around early April in spring and again near mid December in autumn. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Second Pond runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. You can park half a mile away and walk in from there. There is a jetty half a mile off, worth knowing on a busy day. A picnic spot sits half a mile from the bank. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Mill Pond sits 0.3 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Second Pond carry more weight than any list.