Fishing Lake Groton in Caledonia County, Vermont

• Overview

  The Caledonia County end of Vermont holds Lake Groton. The land about it is pine and birch. At some 435 acres it is far too large to cover on foot in a day. There is roughly 5.7 miles of bank, more than one visit can cover properly. It is the biggest water on our Caledonia County list. For supplies, Barre is 13 miles out. Sherbrooke is the closest city, 80 miles away. Being near a boundary, it pays to know which side you are fishing.

• Where to Fish on Lake Groton

  Without a survey to go on, judge depth from how the bank falls away. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. A soft bed grows weed late into autumn, which keeps fish shallow. Open biodiversity records for Caledonia County list rainbow trout, brook trout, pumpkinseed and white sucker. Those are county-wide records, so not every one of them will be in this water. Read Lake Groton for ten minutes before the first cast goes out.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Averages here run 65°F at the top of summer and 14°F at the bottom of winter. Winter shuts things down for a spell, then spring reopens them fast. After mid April the shallows warm and the fish move up. Averages place the thaw at mid April and the freeze at early December. The strong weeks are the first after break-up and the last before the freeze. Expect Lake Groton to follow that timing.

• Tackle & Baits

  Ownership and access are not documented in what we hold. It formed naturally, so levels move with rainfall rather than with a gate. A campsite is mapped about half a mile away, which makes an early start easier. This sits inside Groton State Forest, so read the reserve notices first. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Where tickets apply, they are sold in the nearest town rather than on the bank. Levi Pond sits 1.9 miles off and takes the overflow. Signs at Lake Groton carry more weight than any list.