Hardwick Center Pond Fishing in Caledonia County, Vermont

• Overview

  Hardwick Center Pond lies within the bounds of Caledonia County, Vermont. The ground round it is rolling bush. It covers about 5 acres, so this is small water you can walk round in under an hour. On size it sits at the modest end of our Caledonia County list. Head to Hardwick, 3.3 miles away, for anything you forgot. The nearest city of size is Sherbrooke, 63 miles away. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Hardwick Center Pond

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. Held water runs deepest at the wall and shallows back to the inflow. Standing timber shows when the level drops, and fish sit against it. Records held for Caledonia County cover rainbow trout, brook trout, pumpkinseed, white sucker and yellow perch. Read it as a county summary, not a water-by-water list. Fish Hardwick Center Pond where the bottom changes rather than where it looks deep.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Temperature averages peak at 66°F in July and bottom out at 13°F in January. The season turns properly here, and fish follow it closely. Hard cover is dependable here; it goes around mid April. The lid tends to go about mid April and return around early December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. It sets the rhythm of the year at Hardwick Center Pond.

• Tackle & Baits

  The access position is unclear from public sources. No launch point is recorded nearby, so this is a bank water unless you carry a boat in. For the bass here, soft plastics worked slow along cover and a spinnerbait for searching do most of the work. Ask in the nearest town if you are unsure. Where the way in crosses private ground, ask first. Failing this one, try Hardwick Lake, 2.7 miles away. Where Hardwick Center Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.