cooks bay

I am planning to take a friends son out to cooks bay this weekend.
I dont really go there much, can anybody tell me the best place to
park, and what the best depth? Hoping to get the little guy onto
enough perch to make him happy.

“enough” perch is easy....jumbo perch is tougher. You can park in Keswick on the east side or in Giford on the west and follow the crowds. Can’t miss! You don’t even need minnows really
Good luck!

Gilford will be closer for us.
Lots of parking there? We
will probably be going in the afternoon.

Hey gibbysfishin,

If you know Gilford is closer for you. Drive down Gilford park and walk out. Nobody is going to tell you where to park. Just obey the parking signs. The earlier you get there the closer you can park. I have had to walk 15-20 min just to get to the lake.

As Bobinette stated just follow the crowds.

Nobody is going to tell you about parking locations. These are closely guarded secrets. You either park with the crowds or spend time driving around finding lake access with close parking.

Also the search tab for the forums is your friend. Try looking for the answers you seek.

Ice_addict

Thanks ice-addict. I'm hoping we are late enough to get somebody's
spot that is leaving early,, lol

If they are leaving then fishing sucks! Lol. There is a guy that owns a property close to the lake. You can pay him to park on his property. i think it was $10. I am usually the first one there so parking has never been an issue. Just light has been my biggest problem. Never enough light!

I would rather pay the $10 then spend an hour hunting for a spot, or walking
a mile just to get to the lake. Where is his place?

I was at Gilford today in 20 foot of murky water. Lost sight of the spoon at 10 foot. We only stayed for 2 hours. Walk out was good on the trail but a hard pull off trail. We tried several of the well known enticers tiny, small and medium sizes but came up empty. Perhaps they wanted live bait? Lots of looks on the sonar but nothing opened its mouth. Hope you have better luck. Lots of ice and snow easy access at the road, parking may be a hard go this weekend with it being Family Day.

I saw him out today, his house is just on the north side a few houses west of the lake. He no longer has his hot chocolate stand or any signs.

When you are close (like 50 yards) to end of Gilford Rd you will see the guy on his driveway with a booth offering parking. It used to be $7 for a whole day, but it might be $10 now

there is also a pay parking lot in Gilford at Shore Acres Road and Neilly Road. I believe it is $25 for the day. Best bet is to look for road parking, can be tricky in the afternoon. Hope this helps you out and good luck!