So last week I was fishing on Lake Dunmore. I had only been out on my kayaks on that lake once (it rained heavily last year) and once on a canoe I rented from the State Park before, so I had minimal knowledge of the lake beyond the depth chart and catching a few fish on the north side my first time out, and that it's the clearest water I have ever seen and generally regarded as tough fishing and also one of the best lakes in the state for large bass, both smallmouth and largemouth.

 

When I first got out on the water, the winds were quite strong. I had identified what is likely the best spot (and others confirmed the same thing in a thread I posted before I left) and headed down to it. Due to the winds and depth, I could not anchor on the main lake, but was able to go around the corner and anchor in a milfoil patch as close to a drop off as I could position my kayak. My first cast was intended to confirm where the weedline ends and the drop off starts and the biggest smallmouth I had ever seen followed my jig back to the boat. Until it came to the top, but could not get it to bite unfortunately. It did not take long to get our first fish. We moved to the end of the arm and both of us caught our first fish within ten seconds of each other. We then paddled to the south end of the lake (and barely made it back due to the winds, great idea on my part) and I caught one more. I also found a pretty solid patch of lily pads down there, but too bad I did not bring a frog. We fished the edges of it for a bit, and finally got one on a steep slope on the other side of the arm.

 

The next day we found a point on the north side. It was also the only day with calm winds. I got at least a bass and a pike there and my kid caught a few and also lost a couple - his net kept getting stuck in his blackpak and he had just lost a couple trying to land them.

 

The next couple of days we split most of our time between both spots, and found a few new spots as well. I did not catch any large fish, most of mine were around a pound. My kid got a lot of really tiny fish, but he had a couple of nice ones. But neither of us got skunked on any day, in a very clear lake in very warm water, so that was generally a success. I plan to return next year with much greater knowledge of the lake and I'm going to try to

land a cabin on the water so I can keep my kayak mostly rigged up and on a dock instead of having to trailer it, which makes for a quicker launch.

 

We had a jig, drop shot and tube with us every day. We tried swim jigs, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, small swimbaits, deep divers and T-Rigs as well, but none of the later produced well for us.

 

My collection of pictures from the trip here. The views from the lake were absolutely amazing.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhZmMB-Fz0_2jvch4r8F0z02IP1GKg?e=rzflTD

Pretty! 

Stayed in the campground once when the kids were young, real nice area.

17 hours ago, padlin said:

Stayed in the campground once when the kids were young, real nice area.

Yup, we got a leanto in the state park. There's two other campgrounds and countless cabins on the water as well, more than most other lakes in Vermont but it's far from touristy.

Gosh, that lake is beautiful! Thanks so much for the story of your trip and the many fine photos.

On 8/16/2022 at 12:42 PM, Boomstick said:

So last week I was fishing on Lake Dunmore. I had only been out on my kayaks on that lake once (it rained heavily last year) and once on a canoe I rented from the State Park before, so I had minimal knowledge of the lake beyond the depth chart and catching a few fish on the north side my first time out, and that it's the clearest water I have ever seen and generally regarded as tough fishing and also one of the best lakes in the state for large bass, both smallmouth and largemouth.

 

When I first got out on the water, the winds were quite strong. I had identified what is likely the best spot (and others confirmed the same thing in a thread I posted before I left) and headed down to it. Due to the winds and depth, I could not anchor on the main lake, but was able to go around the corner and anchor in a milfoil patch as close to a drop off as I could position my kayak. My first cast was intended to confirm where the weedline ends and the drop off starts and the biggest smallmouth I had ever seen followed my jig back to the boat. Until it came to the top, but could not get it to bite unfortunately. It did not take long to get our first fish. We moved to the end of the arm and both of us caught our first fish within ten seconds of each other. We then paddled to the south end of the lake (and barely made it back due to the winds, great idea on my part) and I caught one more. I also found a pretty solid patch of lily pads down there, but too bad I did not bring a frog. We fished the edges of it for a bit, and finally got one on a steep slope on the other side of the arm.

 

The next day we found a point on the north side. It was also the only day with calm winds. I got at least a bass and a pike there and my kid caught a few and also lost a couple - his net kept getting stuck in his blackpak and he had just lost a couple trying to land them.

 

The next couple of days we split most of our time between both spots, and found a few new spots as well. I did not catch any large fish, most of mine were around a pound. My kid got a lot of really tiny fish, but he had a couple of nice ones. But neither of us got skunked on any day, in a very clear lake in very warm water, so that was generally a success. I plan to return next year with much greater knowledge of the lake and I'm going to try to

land a cabin on the water so I can keep my kayak mostly rigged up and on a dock instead of having to trailer it, which makes for a quicker launch.

 

We had a jig, drop shot and tube with us every day. We tried swim jigs, spinnerbaits, jerkbaits, small swimbaits, deep divers and T-Rigs as well, but none of the later produced well for us.

 

My collection of pictures from the trip here. The views from the lake were absolutely amazing.

https://1drv.ms/u/s!AhZmMB-Fz0_2jvch4r8F0z02IP1GKg?e=rzflTD

Totally gorgeous lake! Thanks for sharing! We as fishermen get to view the most beautiful places on earth regularly. What a blessing we do what we do!

1 hour ago, Blue Raider Bob said:

Totally gorgeous lake! Thanks for sharing! We as fishermen get to view the most beautiful places on earth regularly. What a blessing we do what we do!

^So true.^

That’s a beautiful place, thanks for sharing.