Pond fishing can be very rewarding especially in remote pristine locations.  A great many ponds are managed for trout with regular spring stockings.  Most of the ponds have been reclaimed which is the process of eradicating all species and then trout are introduced.  This controlled put and take fishery offers the angler a lot of fun and excitement, especially kids.  Reclaimed trout ponds often can support holdover fish and they may support a dynamic food chain.  In these cases, fishing restrictions such a fly fishing only or slot limits are used to protect the self sustaining ecosystem and food chain.  Natural trout reproduction is limited due to pH levels and slow growth rates and even when this might occur, it cannot support a pond fishery even with low fishing pressure.  Luckily for the angler, stocking of trout sustains this fishery.

Logically, the best time to fish a pond is right after it is stocked.  This is perfectly true for kids tournaments.  Ponds are stocked and closed to fishing until the beginning of the tournament.  Usually the smallest kids start first, followed by older kids.  As adults help their children, they indirectly participate in the action as the rules are the kids need to reel in the fish.  The bite starts fast and furious and then decays rather sharply due to commotion and less fish in the pond.  After the first 30 minutes fishing slows but remains steady and usually 2 hours into it, it is incredibly slow.  These are great experiences for the kids.

We enjoy trout ponds that have a developed food chain as this often quickly changes the trouts feeding habits where matching the food is necessary as the trout are selective.  Whatever your preference, we all must respect and accept this fishery for what it is, a put and take fishery.  Respect the fellow angler and enjoy their company.  We risk future changes that fishing is not humane and that these ponds should be allowed to naturally develop as protected fish sanctuaries.  Trout are not that hardy to ever achieve this in New England in our opinion except for a very small percentage of ponds. 

Ponds without lime stone or other pH balancing bottom makeup continue to become acidic which if left unchecked will sterilize the pond.  Trout are very sensitive to temperature and during the summer, shallow ponds rise in temperature this reduces dissolved oxygen which can cause extreme stress on the trout.  For these reasons, many fisherman switch from trout to bass fishing and resume trout in the fall when the temperature drops.   This is why these ponds need to be managed for cold water species.

There are a lot of ponds that are managed for warm water species, namely bass and pan fish.  However, some of these fisheries will also be stocked with brown and rainbow trout as they are more hardy than brook trout.  These fisheries are a great treasure since you can fish for multiple species.

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