Branch Pond in Bennington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Branch Pond stands in Bennington County, Vermont. It lies 2,641 feet above sea level. The water covers some 44 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. It ranks high for size among our Bennington County listings. Arlington is the closest place, 6.8 miles off. Further out sit Manchester Center (6.9 miles) and Jamaica (12 miles). The county line runs close by, so rules can change within a short drive.

• Where to Fish on Branch Pond

  There is no recorded depth, so work from what you can see. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Still water like this holds fish on the edges rather than out in the open. Open biodiversity records for Bennington County list brook trout, brown trout, white sucker and brown bullhead. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Branch Pond gives up more to patience than to distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Average temperature peaks around 64°F in July and bottoms out near 16°F in January. A solid cap is the normal state through winter. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. Average temperatures cross freezing around mid April in spring and again near early December in autumn. May into June fishes hardest, and September gives a second good stretch before the lid returns. On Branch Pond the same rules apply, with local timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  We hold no note on access for this one. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Where a permit is needed, the nearest town usually sells it. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. The nearest alternative is Bourn Pond, 1.9 miles out. Nothing here settles the position at Branch Pond for certain.