Kayak Fishing – Estes Lake

Launch Date: 07/31/2019
Launch Site: Kayak Launch [Google Maps]
Lake Info: [Depth Map]
Fish: Large mouth bass, crappie, perch

Estes Lake, more like a big long pond, is a beautiful paddle. The lake exists due to a dam on the Mousam river. Large sections of the shore are completely undeveloped which allows for beautiful scenery. The official parking for the kayak launch is 1/4 mile down the road. Come with a buddy, come early, or come prepared to get some exercise hauling your boat and gear.

The fishing for my trip wasn’t great. I passed so many places that looked like perfect for large mouth bass and I didn’t see any. I had an aggressive black crappie early on and then nothing until I found a creek chub. I suggest, if you’re there in late July, go closer to the dam. I stayed above the Apache campground and although beautiful, it lacked fish.