Hopkinton Lake with Steve & Doug

On Saturday I went to Hopkinton Lake with my friends Steve and Doug. The plan was to try to find a way from the lake to the Contoocook River. Steve and Doug met me at my house around 9 AM and we were in the water by 9:30.

The day started cold but quickly warmed up to around 65 degrees which felt much warmer in the direct sunshine. All of us were in shorts and short sleeved shirts, which isn't bad for October in New Hampshire. For those of you not from this area, it could just as easily be snowing in October, instead of warm sunshine and puffy clouds.

Steve gave thanks to the kayaking gods for our good fortune. Ater a couple of lazy hours floating and shooting the breeze about everything and nothing, we decided to look for the access to the Contoocook River. We were unsuccessful because of a very large dam (which incidentally, is the reason for Hopkinton Lake). So, with our original plan sunk so to speak, we decided to just stay where we were. Doug tried casting his fly rod but was not successful this time out. I think the day was good for the fish as well! We stayed at the lake for about 4 hours. I can honestly say that this was the best day of kayaking I have had yet. Good Friends, good weather, good times were had by all. Thanks for reading. Enjoy the photos.

Early morning paddle

Here are some pictures from a foggy early morning paddle trip in Turkey Pond. Hope you enjoy.

Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH

If there is a paddling heaven, then Grafton Pond is certainly in the running for that title. This may be one of the prettiest places to paddle your kayak. There are many nooks and crannies to explore . The lake is approximately 235 acres and over 28 islands. Some of the islands are decent size while others are barely more than a small spit of land with a tree.

Although the AMC calls this a small pond, I did not see anyone else for two hours. After that, it seemed like a kayak club showed up with about 14 kayaks.

Grafton Pond is a natural body of water that has been enlarged by a dam at one end. The water is very clean and the lake is deep in some spots (up to 65 feet) and also has some very shallow areas where you might scape the bottom of your kayak.

There is a dirt boat launch and a port-a potty but no other facilities are available. The majority of the lake is owned by The Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forrest. This means that the lake is undeveloped, with only a couple of discrete houses not to far from the boat launch.

It was not easy getting to this pond. This may owe to the sparsity of people I saw. If it wasn't for my GPS, I don't think I ever would have found it. In fact, even with the GPS, I had to stop once for directions. The best that I can say is get to 4A in Grafton and follow until to Grafton Pond Road. This road will bring you (eventually) to the pond and boat ramp.

So far, this has been my absolute favorite place to paddle. Even though it is over 1 hour from my house, I will go back here again.

I give this place 5 paddles out of 5.( I am going to start to rate the places I go from now on.) If you go to this place, you will not be disappointed. Remember, there are no facilities, nor any stores, bring food and and drinks. Happy paddling!

Yes....this is Turkey Pond....Again!

You may notice that I frequent Turkey Pond. That's because it is a mile from my house and big enough to make it worth while to go there. The last time there I caught 5 Perch of varying sizes and one monster Pickerel. I consider Pickerel the Barracudas of fresh water. Truly scary looking fish!

My mother said my pictures were not interesting enough. I try to give a sense of the lake or pond, and am not going for artistic merrit. However, for my mom I will endeavor to make them look better. Hope you enjoy the pictures. The picture of the boat house is from St Paul's School which owns most of the land surrounding Turkey Pond.

Hopkinton Lake again

I went to Hopkinton Lake again today, however, a storm blew in real quick so I left. Good thing too. It was severe lighting. Only spent 1 1/2 hours paddling. I did catch a small Perch and a Large Mouth Bass about 2-3 lbs. Enjoy the photos.

Locke Lake & Half Moon Lake, Barnstead, NH

Today I paddled in Locke Lake & Half Moon Lake which is located in Barnstead, NH. Although it is a nice lake to live on, if you paddle, these two lakes are very boring . There no coves or inlets, nor even streams to explore. I was out there with my friend Steve for two hours, battling 30-40 mph wind gust, which can be fun if you are in the right frame of mind. Of course, a bad day of paddling is still a very good day!

I have attached a link with a map of the two lakes for your convenience.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/bathy_maps/locke_barnstead.pdf