Planning a camping

[Basser2be]

The wife and I are starting to do short camp/fishing trips. We are looking to stay around 3 hours or less from home. I'm about 30 minutes south of Richmond and that put a lot of lakes on my radar. The first one I'm looking at in your great state is Falls Lake. Which brings me to the question, how does this lake fish in early Summer and early Fall. Also the mapping shows a lot of flooded timber. How difficult is it navigate?
Thanks for any advice.

[berudd]

It can fish very well then. And there are some nice campgrounds. I said at Holly Point a few years back and it was nice. Has a ramp that is only open to people staying at the campground it is mid lake so easy access to pretty much every where. The only timber I have seen is way back in some creeks or a bit hear and there is shallow water.. It can get dicey above Cheek Rd I think but I never go up that far. I would not say there is much flooded timber in the lake at all to be honest. I've been fishing it for years and never even thought about it.

[dwmgg17]

I would say anything from Ledgerock/Hwy 50 bridge to the dam is the safest part of Falls lake. That being said means running anywhere on the main lake is pretty good. Couple of creeks have some standing timber in then near the backs and fronts of them. That end of the lake will offer just about every kind of fishing with tons of deep water banks, bluffs and rocks. Normally the water is clearer there also. From the “gap” or pinch point, as some call it, it can be pretty tricky. The lake level can make it even more of a risk. With the new graphs and technology out there today it greatly helps fishing that end without having problems with structure but things shift around on that end when the lake gets high as it would anywhere else. Lots of cuts, guts and creek arms on the dam end also. Just my thoughts.

[kb_rn]

As someone said…..it’s easy to navigate from ledgerock boat ramp down to the dam. A little timber way back in some creeks. The mid to upper end has water willow everywhere. Lower end is rocks, points, road beds, some humps and lay downs. Rollingview campground is one of nicer places to camp in the state. Have camped there countless times. However……the fishing……nowhere near what it used to be. Still has big ones but the lake is tough these days. I can think of 15 other places in the state that I would go to camp/fish over the 3 Raleigh lakes. Good luck if you come.

[Basser2be]

Thanks for the info.

[Basser2be]

As someone said…..it’s easy to navigate from ledgerock boat ramp down to the dam. A little timber way back in some creeks. The mid to upper end has water willow everywhere. Lower end is rocks, points, road beds, some humps and lay downs. Rollingview campground is one of nicer places to camp in the state. Have camped there countless times. However……the fishing……nowhere near what it used to be. Still has big ones but the lake is tough these days. I can think of 15 other places in the state that I would go to camp/fish over the 3 Raleigh lakes. Good luck if you come.

I am open for suggestions.. We haven't made any reservations anywhere yet. Getting away for a few days is great but if there is a better chance of catching fish somewhere else where open. We just got back from camping on the Chickahominy River and didn't do very well. We were only able to fish one of our two days due to the rain and heavy winds. However I fished around and talked to a lot of the MLF/Tackle Warehouse Pros that were there practicing for their upcoming tournament in June and they didn't do too well either.

[Basser2be]

It can fish very well then. And there are some nice campgrounds. I said at Holly Point a few years back and it was nice. Has a ramp that is only open to people staying at the campground it is mid lake so easy access to pretty much every where. The only timber I have seen is way back in some creeks or a bit hear and there is shallow water.. It can get dicey above Cheek Rd I think but I never go up that far. I would not say there is much flooded timber in the lake at all to be honest. I've been fishing it for years and never even thought about it.

Do you know if you park your boat on the camp site?

[1stindoor]

I'm not familiar with the camping areas around Falls, but there are tons around Jordan and many places have a ramp close by and you can beach your boat at the campsite.

[Boatseller]

Not to change lakes but I always liked Longwood Campground at Buggs Island. Very nice and bath houses were clean.

[Basser2be]

Not to change lakes but I always liked Longwood Campground at Buggs Island. Very nice and bath houses were clean.

That one is on the list😁

[kb_rn]

Do you know if you park your boat on the camp site?

at rollingview you can’t really park by your sight. There are sites close to the water but there are bluff banks that prevent parking your bot close but there is a big bot ramp in the campground that is less than a 2 minute drive from any campsite. The campground in the middle of the lake is about the same.

someone else mentioned longwood on buggs island. I would go there any day of the week over falls. I can’t speak for the campground there though. The fishing is much more enjoyable especially for an outsider. Another option would be the northeastern nc area. The Roanoke river and chowan river are a lot of fun. There are campgrounds in that area but I can’t speak for any of them. Just another idea.

[dwmgg17]

Agree with above. You can not go wrong fishing down east. Roanoke river is continuing to be pretty darn good. Have no idea about the camping down there though. Would surely make plans to fish up the Roanoke starting around 3 Sisters and on up to almost Williamston.

[berudd]

Do you know if you park your boat on the camp site?

Yeah, that is what I did but we camped in a tent so had more room than most.