Simon Pond Fishing near Tupper Lake, New York

• Overview

  Simon Pond lies in Franklin County, in New York. The water sits 1,535 feet up. Roughly 780 acres of surface: treat each bay as a water in its own right. It ranks high for size among our Franklin County listings. Tupper Lake lies 2.1 miles from the water. The big place round here is Gloucester, 99 miles distant. The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Simon Pond

  Depth remains unrecorded, so treat the first session as a survey. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. Reported across Franklin County: brook trout, white sucker, brown trout and yellow perch. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. Read Simon Pond before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 65°F in July and bottoms out near 13°F in January. A full turn of seasons, with the strongest sport on either side of summer. Ice-out usually falls in mid April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. On average, mid April opens the water and early December closes it again. The first weeks of open water and the last are the ones to plan for. Plan around that when you fish Simon Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  Public data does not answer the access question here. Access is unmapped, which usually means a farm track and a walk. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Sort the permit out before you load the car. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. The nearest alternative is McBride Pond, 2.1 miles out. Where Simon Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.