Long Pond in Orleans County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Long Pond in Orleans County, Vermont. Land around it is pine and birch. It measures about 99 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Bank access stretches around 1.8 miles in total. Hardwick sits 9.8 miles from here and is the nearest stop. Beyond it, Lyndonville at 14 miles and Lyndon at 15 miles. A border sits close enough to be relevant to the paperwork.

• Where to Fish on Long Pond

  No depth figure has reached our records, which makes a plummet useful. Where the bottom changes texture, fish gather; find that line. Look for the band where the shallows give up and the bottom falls away. Reported across Orleans County: white sucker, pumpkinseed and brook trout. Take it as the county picture rather than a promise for this water. Long Pond gives up its fish to patience rather than distance.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Seasonal averages run from 13°F in January up to 65°F in July. Spring and autumn carry the fishing; summer and winter test it. Ice fishing carries the winter, and the water opens about mid April. The open-water window runs from around mid April to about early December in an average year. Early summer and early autumn carry the open-water season. Plan any trip to Long Pond around it.

• Tackle & Baits

  The rules here are undocumented as far as public sources go. This is a natural basin, not a dammed one. The water borders Long Pond Natural Area, so reserve rules are likely to apply. 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 ground is open by custom rather than by right, so tread carefully. Horse Pond sits 2.5 miles off and takes the overflow. None of that is settled for Long Pond in what we hold.