bumper02

Wordon's Pond and Watchaug Pond are great fisheries in RI. Pachaug and Hopeville Ponds in Griswold Ct are decent as well and not too far from the RI line.

I have been going to the Belgrade area for the last 15 years with several members of my club. We usually make trips in early June and mid September. We stayed in cabins on Great Pond, however the owner recently decided to sell and we are looking at some new places to house our clan when we invade the north. The fishing there is outstanding compared to what we have here in eastern Connecticut. Some of my personal favorite lakes in the area: Torsey - Launch is just a dump off on the side of the road with parking for about 7 to 8 trailers if you are creative. Lots of cabbage and floating scrub and flooded timber. Largemouth haven through most of the lake, with some smallies mixed in on the eastern side. Lots of healthy 2-3 lbrs with occasional larger fish. My favorite jig spot up there. East Pond - Stop at D&L store on the corner before the turn to the launch. Get yourself a sub, you won't be disappointed. They are huge. The pond itself has a sandy beach launch which requires backing in pretty deep to get the boat floating. On the northwest corner of the lake is a tributary that winds quite a ways (we call it the serpentine). Lot's of pads, cabbage, milfoil, floating scrub. When there is a dragonfly hatch, the largemouth go insane. We have had 8 boats in a line fishing our way up and down this area, and everyone got 50+ bass for the day. Many heavy 4's with a few giants mixed in. Some pike as well. North Pond - My personal favorite for smallies. Another side of the road launch with limited parking, best to hit during the week when the locals are working. From the launch, head to the southwest side of the lake, there is a small pocket (called Little North) separated from the main lake by broken islands. The main lake side of those islands is all rocky bottom and smallies spawn all over here. Couple bags of sluggos and some poppers and you will be sore by the time you get home. Lots of 17 inch smallies with quite a few in the 20s. Inside little north there is floating scrub and tends to hold large mouth. A few years ago, one of our members pulled a 7 and a 8 lbs largies in back to back casts. Great Moose - Lies about an hour north of Belgrade and can be tricky to find. Has a beautiful launch hidden on unpaved back roads. The western side of the lake has huge flats covered in pads, millfoils, and reeds. Some of biggest largemouth have come from this area. My personal best included (7 lbs). There are also lots of spots where the shoreline is rocky with lots of riprap and holds some decent smallmouth. We always save the best weather day of the trip for this place. Messalonskee - Has 2 launches, one of the north end and one on the east side about mid lake. Main lake holds mostly smallmouth with some largies mixed in. Wacky rig around the numerous docks and boats seems to work the best. South end of the lake has floating scrub and reeds. Largemouth and pike can be had there. Some other waters of note that we fished with decent success: Three Mile, Flying Pond, Echo, Annabessacook, and Long to name a few.