Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

JULY
Bluefish
Point Judith Harbor, RI
This is a great departure point for the many charters available or to put in your own boat for a day of fighting those aggressive blues.

To reach the public ramp from Route 1, take Old Point Judith Road (Route 108) to Galilee Road. Turn right to reach the landing.

Black Crappies
Balch Pond, N.H.
Balch Pond in Wakefield is the perfect panfish destination. Fish for black crappies around submerged, fallen timber and other structure.

Crappies have soft mouths, so set the hook gently. Small, live shiners or lures that imitate small baitfish will elicit the most attention from hungry crappies.

State-owned access is off Route 153.

Walleyes
Gardner Lake, Conn.
Gardner Lake in Salem, Montville and Bozrah is an excellent walleye water. Recent samplings by state biologists indicated that walleyes here weigh up to 12 pounds and measure up to 30 inches long.

Access may be had at a launch site on the southern shore. From Norwich, take Route 2 west to Route 354. The access road is off Route 354 north of its intersection with Route 82.

AUGUST
Largemouth Bass
Halfmoon Pond, N.H.
Growth rates in this Barnstead pond are excellent: Largemouth bass reach 12 inches in just three years. Diverse fish habitat here means good survival, with exceptional young-of-the-year production and plenty of forage.

Stripers
The Race, Conn.
The waters eight miles southeast of Niantic Bay at the mouth of Long Island Sound are known to hold big stripers all summer long. The biggest stripers are taken here at night.

Access may be had from the Jordon Cove or Niantic River ramps in Waterford.

Strong currents make these challenging waters. Visiting anglers may want to hire a charter boat and leave the tricky navigation to the captain.

Northern Pike
Pontoosuc Lake, Mass.
Pontoosuc Lake in Pittsfield has abundant aquatic vegetation that makes for great pike cover. This lake has been stocked with pike since the 1980s, and now has a naturally reproducing pike population.

Access the southern end of the lake on Hancock Road off Route 7.

SEPTEMBER
Rainbow Trout
Little Androscoggin River, Maine
As water temperatures drop, the fishing action picks up along the Little Androscoggin River.

Stocked rainbow trout move out of their cool summer depths and become easier for anglers to access.

Some holdover rainbows here measure 20-plus inches. State-owned access points are numerous along the river’s shores.

Largemouth Bass
Echo Lake, R.I.
Anglers at Echo, also known as the Pascoag Reservoir, report fast action for big largemouth bass. Bass, and golden shiners as forage, have been stocked here for years.

Access may be had via a state-owned boat ramp off Jackson Schoolhouse Road in Glocester.

Brown Trout
Walloomsac River, Vt.
This river, flowing through Bennington, is one of the best urban fisheries in the state. The Walloomsac is stocked annually with browns, brookies and rainbow trout. Fish upstream and downstream from the small park in downtown Bennington where the river passes under Route 7. Or cast into the riffles and pools where the river borders the golf course.