Going to be staying at Lakeview Lodge on North Hero from June 8th through 11th. Buddy and I wanted to make a trip to The Gut but not sure how far it is by boat vs. by car. I am pretty sure there is a ramp there that you have to pay for, but that's not the issue. Just debating trip by car vs boat for time it takes and possibility of rough water.
Last edited by cwenbass; 05-17-2023 at 07:58 AM.
Point Au Roche Boat Ramp is free and go across to the gut, that would be easy for you
Sorry. I should have said Lakeview Lodge on North HeroOriginally Posted by jcuts9
All you gotta do is go on Google Maps and punch in Lakeview Lodge down to Knight Point State Park (near the gut) and you'll get an idea of distance. You're looking at about 8 miles by car and about 9 by boat. Watch the weather like a hawk and make the call to drive or boat down.
See if you can find a launch on the Eastern side of north Hero which will give you easy access to City Bay, the Gut, and the islands out in the Inland Sea. The strong N and S winds are what you wanna look out for. Where you're staying isn't a bad spot (Alburgh Passage) should be some weed growth there by June.
https://www.weather.gov/btv/recreation
So you can launch at King State Park? I did not see a boat ramp on Google Maps. I found a place to launch right in City Bay so that solves that question.
The most puckered I have ever been in a boat was coming back to Point Au Roche from the Gut when the wind kicked up (not crazy bad but maybe 15mph at the most).
Nitro Z18
175hp ProXS
No clue if you can launch there. But you'll be fine in City Bay and boating down to the Gut. That side of the lake is usually a lot calmer. It's when you try and cross over into NY that things can get dicey.
I'm starting to rethink even staying on that side of the lake when all the good fishing is in VT!
I tried it in 30 mph
Dead south wind and almost dark . Bout sunk a Ranger. Never again. Had leave boat at Point Au Roche and go back to get it next morning (was staying at Marine village)
I stayed at Lakeview last year first week of Aug. Two days blew decent and I didn’t have much trouble in my ‘88 Bass Tracker 1800. I won’t say it was nice, but the tops of the waves weren’t bad once you got there. I will say, it wasn’t pleasant on spot lock taking waves over the bow. Took us longer getting back in that south wind than getting there.
Mass state fishoffs out of ticonderoga in mid 2000's. I was a nonboater. Drew one of the top guns for day 2 at the dinner after day one. All the guys Told me we were going for a ride and hold on. We launched something like boat 30. Headed torwards Burlington. We passed every other boat going north that launched before us. Honking! Pretty smooth till we got to the bridge. Then its blowing like snot out of the north and we are in solid 4 to 6 footers. Thank god I had a passenger console and a oh shit handle. guy was a skilled driver. He stayed hammered down skipping off the tops of the waves for quite a while till we hit one that was different and the nose went sky high for what seemed like an eternity. Came back down with the nose almost vertical on the back right corner in a pretty rough fashion but the boat kept the wet side down thank god. I looked over, he was white as a ghost and just said "Maybe we should slow down" I just nodded. Spent most of the day fishing up there just wondering how bad the ride back was going to be.
Just watch the wind if youre in the bays—most of the time its fine and you’ll wonder what all the fuss is about, but can be deceptively calm in carry bay and the gut, then you poke out into the big lake to run home and youre in a world of fun if things really picked up. Lake forecast is here: https://www.weather.gov/btv/recreation
Remember, mean wave height in the forecast is just that, an average—“3feet” means there will be intermittent 4’ waves, etc. from where youre staying you have enough sheltered water in carry bay and the passage and up into mississquoi bay that you dont have to push it.
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