Swamp Pond Fishing Guide, Sullivan County, New York

• Overview

  Sullivan County in New York is where Swamp Pond sits. The bank is 978 feet above sea level. At about 62 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. The edge runs 1.5 miles or so, easy to work in an afternoon. You are 8.8 miles from Barryville. Then Hawley, 13 miles, and Honesdale, 14 miles. The boundary is near enough that local access rules are worth double-checking.

• Where to Fish on Swamp Pond

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. The productive water is a rod length or two out, not a hundred. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. County-wide records name brown trout, brook trout, smallmouth bass, white sucker and rainbow trout. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. On Swamp Pond the quiet end is the one worth the extra effort.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 68°F in July and bottom out at 22°F in January. Winter puts a hard lid on this one. Ice-out usually falls in early April, and the weeks after it fish hardest. Averages suggest open water from about early April through to roughly mid December. Fish feed hardest at the start and the close of the open season. Swamp Pond runs to its own calendar within the local pattern.

• Tackle & Baits

  There is no clear statement anywhere on who can fish it. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. The map shows no ramp or car park nearby, so this is a walk-in water. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Davis Pond, 1.4 miles out. Where Swamp Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.