Upper Pond Fishing in Essex County, New York

• Overview

  Within Essex County, New York, you have Upper Pond. The bank is 2,165 feet above sea level. At about 57 acres, a day is enough to walk the shoreline properly. Around 1.8 miles of margin, front to back. By elevation it is in the upper part of our New York listings. For a base, North Elba sits 11 miles out. After that come Lake Placid at 12 miles and Saranac Lake at 14 miles. No border sits close enough to matter.

• Where to Fish on Upper Pond

  Depth went unrecorded, which puts the reading back on you. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Weed, then depth: that is the order to fish a water of this kind. Survey and observation records for Essex County include brown trout, brook trout and white sucker. The county figures include rivers and lakes alike. On Upper Pond a short move beats a long cast.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The seasonal spread runs 12°F to 62°F. The year runs cold to warm and back, with clear transitions. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around late April. Ice clears near late April and comes back about late November in a typical year. Right after break-up, and again as the nights sharpen, is when to go. It holds true on Upper Pond more years than not.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. There is no mapped parking or launch close by, which usually means walking in. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. A landowner's word beats anything printed elsewhere. Fishing rules and camping rules are set separately here. Should this one be busy, Hunter Pond is 0.5 miles off. Confirm access to Upper Pond locally before you travel.