Fishing Lake Winnipesaukee: Article 1 of 3
Lake Winnipesaukee
the Jewel of New Hampshire
Submitted by: John Cowan // John/NH
May 20, 2002
As an introduction to this article and two more to follow, I spent a glorious
day last June on an NH Lake with your friend and mine; Ray Scully. We developed
an immediate friendship and continue to communicate. In that regard, Ray has
asked that I attempt to generate an article about fishing on Lake Winnipesaukee.
Well, here we go:
A little background on me: I am an avid fisherman and have been hooked on this
sport since my Grandfather (a fine Irish Gentleman - he raised me) took me
fishing for the first time way back in 1953 at Shenorock Lake in Somers, NY. I have him to thank
for all the pleasure I have derived from fishing and everything that goes along
with it. I have fished in lakes & rivers all over the country and as a plus
-- have just over 14 years of experience on Winnipesaukee (lets call it Winni =
easier to type and that's what we call the big girl up here).
Enough about me and now lets venture into describing the Winni Fishing
Experience:
Due to the seasonal impact on this vast and diverse fishery, I feel it's
necessary to describe Bass fishing at Winni in several articles. The first
article (this one) will address pre spawn fishing which normally occurs in mid
March and continues to late April; spawn which occurs from late April through
mid to late June (smallies & largemouth will overlap each other) and post
spawn which occurs from early June through the beginning on July.
As many anglers read articles about Winni, they only begin to scratch the
surface of what the lake offers to the fisherman. With a lake surface area of
72 square miles, 244 islands and 182 miles of shoreline, the big girl offers a
multitude of fishing adventures.
Winni has coves that are larger than the 2nd largest lake in the state and
depths that range from nonnavigable shoals to the deepest area which is in an
area called the broads and boasts of reaching a chilling 150 plus.
Lets spend a moment on preparation:
What does the big lake have in store for the 1st time visitor?
With multiple places to chose from, perhaps the two best places to base your
stay at the lake are: Ames Farm Inn, Gilford, NH (603/293-4321) / http://www.amesfarminn.com/ where they
have a restaurant, cabins, launch facilities and easy access to the center of
the lake and Silver Sands Motel & Marina, Gilford, NH (603) 293-4481
/http://www.silversands.com/ where they have similar facilities to Ames Farm
but also have a gas dock (note Silver Sands doesn't have food, but multiple
restaurants are close by); in either case your at the right place to start your
fishing expedition from.
The next step in your angling adventure is to purchase a fishing license and a
map of the lake (VERY IMPORTANT) if you expect to navigate safely and get back
to your point of origin without getting lost.
Lets go Fishing:
Now for the fishing; Winni has a multitude of species and to keep it simple I
will only comment on Smallmouth and Largemouth Bass. As many of the readers are
already aware, smallies and buckets are typically as different as night and day
when it comes to habitat and the fish on Winni are certainly no exception.
Their forage may differ slightly since the lake offers a virtual smorgasbord
and the Bass know where all the best places are to chow down.
PRE-SPAWN FISHING:
The general habits of smallies on the lake are very dependent on water
temperature. As the spring progresses the smallmouth begin their annual spawn
ritual and some of the best quality fish will easily be seen (not necessarily
caught) in the immediate drops outside sand & gravel flats. These flats can
be found on the map and special attention should be paid to the areas that
provide scattered rock in 3 to 8 feet of water and in close proximity to drops
that go to 15 to 25 feet. A plus to locate while searching for these cherished
locations is wind blown shorefront a hint here is that the prevailing wind on
Winni is from the Northwest to southeast this is not a secret its a fact.
What baits produce in the spring is the next adventure. I prefer a variety of
reliable baits. The Silver Buddy in ½ oz. is perhaps the best producer when the
fish are in their pre-spawn mode and are hanging in 25 to 30 feet of water off
those flats I previously mentioned. The next best baits include grubs or tubes
on either a 5/16 jig head or Carolina rig and worked slow best colors are watermelon or
pumpkin. In the case of the soft plastic, it's extremely important to go very
slow, stay in contact with your bait and move from drop-off to drop-off. The
third and final offering that consistently produces is crank & jerk baits.
My preference for the spring is the Rapala R7 in Black Back/Silver Belly and I
modify them with a small dab of bright orange nail polish on the throat or
anything with Orange & Brown colors. I get my best results by letting the
fish tell me what they want and its normally a slow to fast to stop and restart
presentation. Most of the hits come when you have stopped and just begin to
move and they will be more in the form of a feeling of added weight. The
favorite suspending jerk bait for me is the Rouge Clown. This baby will attract
hits from a great distance and can often be the best producer on a sunny
bluebird day. Don't forget to bring along your favorite Spinnerbaits. Most
light colors or orange work well. Small baits fished fast or large baits fished
slow will work the best and wind is preferred.
Where to go on your first adventure on Winni: If you don't have a good working
knowledge of the lake, perhaps the best places to start are at Forty Islands,
Ragged Island, Winter Harbor, on the route 11 side of Sleeper Island, Middle
Ground Shoal and the Graveyard be careful here = hence the name (lots of boat
parts on the bottom).
Oh I forgot to mention Largemouth;
During their pre-spawn period, you will find them cruising their traditional
spawn areas. On Winni these locations are in Lees Mills, Salmon Meadow, The
Basin, Greens Basin, Paugus Bay and Moultonboro. All
of these locations have a habitat that includes shallow water, stumps, trees,
weed flats, a multitude of docks and far to many boathouses to count.
What to use for LM:
In my opinion; the best results come from jig & pig (Black or Brown with a
craw trailer), Tubes or Yami grubs in white, craw, pumpkin or green and offer
them on either light jig heads or Texas rig them on a 2.0 EWG hook and work
them slow around structure. Another bait that works well is the good old Silver
Buddy work this lure in shallow water and bounce it through the sand yes
you will donate a few of them, but the results are worth the investment. I also
use Senkos, Sluggos and Bass Assassins on a Texas rig with NO weight and zip them through all
the structure. I hate to bring this up because I had a hard time convincing
myself that it would work, but Bubble Gum Sluggos can be a real killer at
times (ps smallies love them to).
All of the above baits work well on either spinning or bait cast equipment. I
prefer to use a spinning rod on Tubes and Grubs when using light jig heads and
everything else on bait cast rigs.
SPAWN FISHING:
(I am dead against fishing tournaments during this period, however, I
understand that people have the right to catch and release fish during this
period I had to mention this.)
If your plans include visiting Winni between the first week in May and the 2nd
to 3rd week in June; you may be in for the catch of your life. Finding fish is
easy.
Smallies:
Rule #1: just go to all of the scattered rock shorelines (3 to 8 deep), put
on your Polaroids, tie on a White tube with a Ό ounce head, and toss it into a
bed = the smallies will do the rest. If that's not exciting enough, drop back
into 12 to 15 of water and tie on a Bomber Long A (Gold/Black) and throw it
out over the edge of the spawn flats (transition from shallow to deep this is
easily spotted since the water color will change (lighter = shallow / darker =
deep).
Note: Yamamoto 4 single or twin tail grubs and Senkos also work well.
A couple of primary spots for spawning smallies are: Forty Islands, Winter Harbor (east shore), Middleground
Shoal, Graveyard (on the dangerous side of the markers boulders galore), Twin Island (also dangerous), inside
Mark/Mink/Bear Islands (rocks/shoal/sand/gravel) and Center Harbor (Northwest shore).
Largemouth:
The largemouth like similar baits but you must fish them very slow. My best
results have traditionally come from Tube baits and the color is not normally
an issue. The key is to get them mad enough to hit. Largemouth are not overly
protective of their beds and will not attack like smallies do.
The best locations for Largemouth during spawn is up in Lees Mills. This area
is very large and has dozens of islands, shallow water, weeds galore, stumps
and trees and is renowned ass the best LM area on the entire lake. Most people
don't chase LM since the smallies are so easy to catch.
Post Spawn:
Just when you had the fish figured out, Mother Nature tells the fish that they
are all done with protecting their eggs and the fish become smart. This is
perhaps one of the most interesting times of the year. It's a time when the
fisherman is faced with a challenge on what to do. Don't forget you just
finished spawn fishing and now most of that stuff doesn't work; or does it.
Smallies:
Now's the time to break out that Carolina rig, tie on a Tube, Grub or perhaps a
small Lizard and start working the drop offs and find the early stages of
grass beds (a hint here = if you can find grass that has a bit of a skunk smell
in 15 to 40 of water fish it hard = that's where your going to find some of
the hardest fighting smallies in the 3 to 4 ½ Lb. Range). If you find them
suspended on drops tie on a spinner bait (Orange or Chartreuse ½ to Ύ ounce) and cast across
the drop as well as retrieve it from shallow to deep wind is your friend.
Where to go??
Remember those places where the smallies had been spawning? The fish have now
moved to the deep water in fairly close proximity to the shallow flats. In
addition, some new places have come alive. Salmon Meadow, Welch Island, West
side of Long Island, Blacks Cove, Blackie Cove, and inside Sleeper Island.
Largemouth:
By the end of June the Largemouth are almost at their summer pattern, but still
are found cruising. My best results come from a variety of presentations. Small
Jig & Pig (Black with Craw trailer) around docks and wood; Black/Gold 4 Sluggos
on weed beds and grass lines, Spitt'n Image / Spook / Devils Horse on 8 to 12
flats or along weed edges.
Where to go:
The most productive Largemouth area still remains in the Lees Mills area as
well as Twin Island, Gull Ledges, Salmon
Meadow, Ash Cove, Paugus Bay, and the Basin.
I hope this information is helpful and in the event that anyone is planning on
visiting Winni or any other lake in New Hampshire, just drop me a message on
the board and I will help you out.
Regards to all;
John/NH
.
Monday, May 20, 2002 - John H