Nelson Pond in Washington County: How and When to Fish It

• Overview

  Look for Nelson Pond in the Washington County part of Vermont. The country here is pine and birch. Small at around 5 acres: two anglers spread out cover most of it. On size it sits at the modest end of our Washington County list. Nearest place of any size is Montpelier, 4.7 miles away. Middlesex follows at 7.8 miles, then Barre at 8.5 miles. This one is safely inside the county line.

• Where to Fish on Nelson Pond

  Depth is not on record here, so the bank has to tell you. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. The shallow end warms first and pulls fish in ahead of the rest. Fish documented in Washington County include brook trout, rainbow trout and white sucker. Records at this level tell you what is in the area. Work Nelson Pond in sections rather than trying to cover it.

• Seasonal Patterns

  On the long-term average, July reads 67°F and January reads 15°F. Cold winters and warm summers give a wide working range. Count on hard cover from midwinter, and open water from mid April. Climate figures give an open season running mid April to early December. Fishing peaks soon after break-up and again before the cold returns. Nelson Pond fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  Nothing on record says whether the bank is open or closed. No slipway, car park or made path shows up nearby in mapping, so treat access as rough. Bass water: a Texas-rigged worm near cover, a spinnerbait when you need to cover ground. Rules for this water may differ from the county norm. Night access is frequently treated as a separate matter. Chapels Pond, 0.4 miles away, makes the obvious fallback. Where Nelson Pond is concerned, a local answer beats a written one.