BigEyedF11sh Posted February 5, 2021 Posted February 5, 2021 Figured this would be a kind of cool thread not just for me but others who enjoy camping in here as well. This winter I was able to get my hands on an Old Town Sportsman PDL and I'm looking to explore as many new bodies of water both near and far as I can. My job last year didn't allow me to travel much as I had to work most weekends but this year I'm looking to set aside a lot more time for the important things. I have a tent, propane stove and all the camping essentials already; I'm just looking for recommendations on good spots to set up shop for a weekend. Public land, campgrounds, state parks are all fair game. No preference to type of body of water; ponds, lakes, and rivers are all also fair game. Driving 4 or 5 hours from the South Shore of MA isn't really a problem for me so this extends my range to most of the Northeast. Camp sites with direct access to water are obviously a huge plus but I also don't mind cartopping to the water for fishing. Short list of spots already on the list: Nickerson State Park down the cape - several great kayak bass fishing ponds within the park Sebago Lake State Park - Already been with my father, a little bigger water than I'm comfortable with on my kayak and not exactly a bass fishing destination but there's some great salmon fishing right off the state park that I can take advantage of before and after the boat traffic waves kick up in the afternoon. I know there are some people that keep their camping spots as tight to the vest as their fishing spots but I kinda figure sharing information is what this site is all about. Thanks for your help guys! 1 Quote
Deeare Posted February 6, 2021 Posted February 6, 2021 Bristol nh is 2 hours from Boston. You can access newfound lake from Wellington state park and you can access the pemi River about a mile after you get off of rt 93 (exit 23). I have a predator pedal and hit them both....you won’t be disappointed. Tons of smallies and depending on the season you can catch trout and salmon. I’m not up to speed on camp grounds though but I’m sure there’s a couple close. 1 Quote
Super User Boomstick Posted February 21, 2021 Super User Posted February 21, 2021 So if you are willing to travel west a bit, I have several camping destinations I could recommend - also a kayaker myself as well. No real secrets here. Most of my favorites are in Vermont, usually they're quiet and for $10 more a night I can get a leanto so if it rains hard I can sit in the leanto and keep my stuff dry. 1) Emerald Lake State Park in E. Dorset VT - small campground on a 20 acre lake, usually very quiet. You can get up and drive a few smaller lakes in the area or some larger lakes primarily Lake St Catherine or Lake Dunmore. There is a ton of fallen trees and a ton of drop offs throughout the lake, increased by the presence of an island in the middle of the lake. Due to the amount of quality structure, it can be tough fishing but it can produce good smallies - I landed what I'm sure is my PB here and a solid largemouth that was likely 5+ last summer although most the largies are smaller. Also there's a few nice shorter hiking trails around the lake. 2) Lake St. Catherine, Poultney VT. Alongside the beach, there is a sand bar that runs into the lake where the lake gets thinner in the north section which is the second best shore fishing spot I've found to date. A couple years ago, I nearly landed 2 decent sized fish on the same treble hook (and would have if my oldest son knew to grab the line), and hooked what was easily the largest fish I've ever hooked but it got away. My neighbor actually caught a 10lb 4oz bass here, which would have tied the VT state record if he could have kept it. There's every sort of structure and cover available here, lot of lily pads in the south and sections in the north end, milfoil up north, docks and steep slopes in open water on the west side. I cannot carry enough rods in my kayak for this lake! 3) Branbury State Park on Lake Dunmore. This is the clearest water I've ever fished. Not a lot of weeds and thus difficult fishing, but the VT state record largemouth came from this lake and the next record may very well come out of here too. There's some amazing hiking trails in Moosalamoo in the Green mountains nearby, one overlooking the lake. Look up the Rattlesnake Cliffs trail - the same base of the trail splits and if you go the other way, you can walk around Silver Lake - no bass there but I hear they have some nice brown trout. You can also drive to Sugar Hill reservoir which actually feeds Silver Lake, which would be a nice quiet spot to fish. 4) Lake Bomoseen or Half Moon Pond. The Bomoseen campground usually fills up fast, but Half Moon isn't too far away and you can get into any state park for free with your camping pass. If you book your site on Bomoseen as soon as they go on sale, you can land a lento on the water. Near Half Moon pond there is Black Pond which is a short drive but a difficult launch which I got a few and so did my kids when we took the kayaks out there. It's fairly deep for a small pond. There is also Glen Lake which I believe used to be a quarry and has a lot of deep water, although it can be very hard to find parking near the boat launch. 5) Northampton Beach Campground, Mayfield, NY on Great Sacandaga Lake. Nice beach area, and the north arm of the lake generally produces good smallies and walleye. The Northfield bridge to the north is a good spot to fish and is the eastern side of that arm where there is a deep slope. 6) Ricker Pond, Groton VT. 90 acre pond, generally a quiet area. Didn't land anything bigger than 2.5lbs or so but did catch a few along the eastern shorline. My oldest son did narrowly miss the largest fish of his life when the knot broke as he had it 90% onto his boat, so they're in there. To the north is Lake Groton and there's a lot of good hiking trails in the area. 7) Button Bay State Park, Vergennes VT on Lake Champlain. You can take the kayak out during the day in the nearby boat launch. The entire cove is a great location for smallies. Come sunset, if you walk to the point and bring a spinnerbait and a crankbait, the smallies absolutely hammer them. And just as you think they bite died off, then the big ones move in. When there's still decent sunlight, use the spinnerbait and once the sun starts going down they'll absolutely hammer a crankbait. Careful on the rocks though, the ones that get wet are very slippery and slipped and took a bad fall and I'm pretty sure I broke several ribs as it hurt to sleep for a good 6 months after. This year, I'm looking at trying something in the Saranac Lake area, and not sure what else yet. 3 Quote
BigEyedF11sh Posted February 22, 2021 Author Posted February 22, 2021 5 hours ago, Boomstick said: So if you are willing to travel west a bit, I have several camping destinations I could recommend - also a kayaker myself as well. No real secrets here. Most of my favorites are in Vermont, usually they're quiet and for $10 more a night I can get a leanto so if it rains hard I can sit in the leanto and keep my stuff dry. 1) Emerald Lake State Park in E. Dorset VT - small campground on a 20 acre lake, usually very quiet. You can get up and drive a few smaller lakes in the area or some larger lakes primarily Lake St Catherine or Lake Dunmore. There is a ton of fallen trees and a ton of drop offs throughout the lake, increased by the presence of an island in the middle of the lake. Due to the amount of quality structure, it can be tough fishing but it can produce good smallies - I landed what I'm sure is my PB here and a solid largemouth that was likely 5+ last summer although most the largies are smaller. Also there's a few nice shorter hiking trails around the lake. 2) Lake St. Catherine, Poultney VT. Alongside the beach, there is a sand bar that runs into the lake where the lake gets thinner in the north section which is the second best shore fishing spot I've found to date. A couple years ago, I nearly landed 2 decent sized fish on the same treble hook (and would have if my oldest son knew to grab the line), and hooked what was easily the largest fish I've ever hooked but it got away. My neighbor actually caught a 10lb 4oz bass here, which would have tied the VT state record if he could have kept it. There's every sort of structure and cover available here, lot of lily pads in the south and sections in the north end, milfoil up north, docks and steep slopes in open water on the west side. I cannot carry enough rods in my kayak for this lake! 3) Branbury State Park on Lake Dunmore. This is the clearest water I've ever fished. Not a lot of weeds and thus difficult fishing, but the VT state record largemouth came from this lake and the next record may very well come out of here too. There's some amazing hiking trails in Moosalamoo in the Green mountains nearby, one overlooking the lake. Look up the Rattlesnake Cliffs trail - the same base of the trail splits and if you go the other way, you can walk around Silver Lake - no bass there but I hear they have some nice brown trout. You can also drive to Sugar Hill reservoir which actually feeds Silver Lake, which would be a nice quiet spot to fish. 4) Lake Bomoseen or Half Moon Pond. The Bomoseen campground usually fills up fast, but Half Moon isn't too far away. If you book your site on Bomoseen as soon as they go on sale, you can land a lento on the water. Near Half Moon pond there is Black Pond which is a short drive but a difficult launch which I got a few and so did my kids when we took the kayaks out there. It's fairly deep for a small pond. There is also Glen Lake which I believe used to be a quarry and has a lot of deep water, although it can be very hard to find parking near the boat launch. 5) Northampton Beach Campground, Mayfield, NY on Great Sacandaga Lake. Nice beach area, and the north arm of the lake generally produces good smallies and walleye. The Northfield bridge to the north is a good spot to fish and is the eastern side of that arm where there is a deep slope. 6) Ricker Pond, Groton VT. 90 acre pond, generally a quiet area. Didn't land anything bigger than 2.5lbs or so but did catch a few along the eastern shorline. My oldest son did narrowly miss the largest fish of his life when the knot broke as he had it 90% onto his boat, so they're in there. To the north is Lake Groton and there's a lot of good hiking trails in the area. 7) Button Bay State Park, Vergennes VT on Lake Champlain. You can take the kayak out during the day in the nearby boat launch. The entire cove is a great location for smallies. Come sunset, if you walk to the point and bring a spinnerbait and a crankbait, the smallies absolutely hammer them. And just as you think they bite died off, then the big ones move in. When there's still decent sunlight, use the spinnerbait and once the sun starts going down they'll absolutely hammer a crankbait. Careful on the rocks though, the ones that get wet are very slippery and slipped and took a bad fall and I'm pretty sure I broke several ribs as it hurt to sleep for a good 6 months after. This year, I'm looking at trying something in the Saranac Lake area, and not sure what else yet. This is awesome, exactly what I was looking for. Can’t wait to do more research. Thanks a lot and good luck this season! 1 Quote
Super User Boomstick Posted February 22, 2021 Super User Posted February 22, 2021 19 hours ago, BigEyedF11sh said: This is awesome, exactly what I was looking for. Can’t wait to do more research. Thanks a lot and good luck this season! Thanks! If you need any more information about a particular spot, let me know. I've been to a few others as well but those would be the places I could recommend more towards fishing. Quote
michaelb Posted February 23, 2021 Posted February 23, 2021 Boomstick's list looks fun. I haven't fished any of those places. But to talk about Lake Champlain a bit more, if you can make it all the way up here: Button bay: the lake is gorgeous down there, and the fishing should be very good. Grand Isle State Park: also gorgeous, big water, and probably great fishing too; very popular Burton Island: do you have time to take a short ferry to a Island? Great fishing and scenery Knight Island/Woods Island: can you paddle to camp??? I looked at the list of Vermont State parks and wonder about the Connecticut River. I only see Wilgus State Park. Never heard of it, but they have a video on the front page about "kayak fishing". My guess is fishing the river would be great too. Quote
Super User Boomstick Posted February 24, 2021 Super User Posted February 24, 2021 8 hours ago, michaelb said: Boomstick's list looks fun. I haven't fished any of those places. But to talk about Lake Champlain a bit more, if you can make it all the way up here: Button bay: the lake is gorgeous down there, and the fishing should be very good. Grand Isle State Park: also gorgeous, big water, and probably great fishing too; very popular Burton Island: do you have time to take a short ferry to a Island? Great fishing and scenery Knight Island/Woods Island: can you paddle to camp??? I looked at the list of Vermont State parks and wonder about the Connecticut River. I only see Wilgus State Park. Never heard of it, but they have a video on the front page about "kayak fishing". My guess is fishing the river would be great too. I have never been to Grand Isle, but getting one of those leantos on the water has been on my wishlist I just never book it early enough to get one before they sell out. I should also note that near Button Bay is the mouth to Otter Creek. The water was among the dirtiest water I've ever seen but that would be a potential nearby target as well. Quote
BurrStone Posted February 24, 2021 Posted February 24, 2021 22 hours ago, michaelb said: I looked at the list of Vermont State parks and wonder about the Connecticut River. I only see Wilgus State Park. Never heard of it, but they have a video on the front page about "kayak fishing". My guess is fishing the river would be great too. A few years back I put in at Wilgus w/canoe and a buddy and floated/paddled & fished all the way to Hoyt's landing in Springfield. We did the trip in early May and caught tons of smallies, a few walleye, some rock bass and suckers. It was a 15 mile stretch with some dead spots here and there but right around Wilgus we had great success, and further down around Jarvis island. Another place in VT which I think allows camping is Somerset Reservoir near Mt. Snow/Wardsboro. That's a big lake that sees little pressure. Full of smallies. I've only fished there on day trips by kayak but once ran into another crew coming back from what had to be a multi-day excursion in 2 canoes. Its surrounded by forest. Not a house in sight. 10 mile dirt road in/out. Go prepared. 1 1 Quote
Super User Boomstick Posted February 24, 2021 Super User Posted February 24, 2021 33 minutes ago, BurrStone said: Another place in VT which I think allows camping is Somerset Reservoir near Mt. Snow/Wardsboro. I live about a hour away, but never made it up there yet mainly because the kids get car sick on those roads. I have some friends who love that spot though. A little bit to the southeast there is the Harriman reservoir that has a lot of shoreline. I've shore fished the south there. And not far away from the southeast is Sadawaga Lake, which has some weeds. If you camp in the area, I'd look at Molly Stark State Park which isn't too far away. And nearby there is also Beer Naked Brewery. Quote
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