As the days and season lengthen, travel to the north shore to the coves beyond Boat Mooring Area No. 2.

Pinchot Lake is part of the Gifford Pinchot State Park. Some maps still denote the impoundment as Lake Marburg. The park is along Route 117 between Rossville and Lewisberry. From Harrisburg, take Interstate Route 83 south to the Lewisberry exit and then Route 177 south. From Route 15, travel south to Dillsburg and then to Route 74 south.

For more information, call the park office at (717) 432-5011.

CHESTER-OCTORARO LAKE
This 625-acre impoundment owned by the Chester-Octoraro Water Authority is open for fishing from April until the end of October.

Anglers should work its murky waters because the impoundment has a good largemouth population, with a substantial percentage of trophy-sized fish.

A nearby bait shop, Jim Neary’s Live Bait and Tackle in Kirkwood, has a slogan: “Where the bass are bigger and the crappies are colossal.”

Chester-Octoraro Lake has a lot of character. It contains everything from large weedbeds to deep creek channels and rows of riprap. This means anglers should show up equipped with a variety of lures. There’s plenty of structure to warrant everything from deep-diving cranks to spinnerbaits and soft-plastics.

For starters, find the bridges and the accompanying riprap around Spruce Grove Road, which lies off Route 472 (Lancaster Pike) west of Oxford. Jim Neary’s shop is on the lake at 212 Spruce Grove Road.

Where the bridges create back bays and pockets between the riprap and main shorelines, a lot of weeds will grow in the spring. The shallower weedbeds (in two to seven feet of water) attract pre-spawn and spawning bass. If it’s a cool spring, work the riprap, which warms up faster on sunny days.

Another good area for riprap and weedy pockets lies between the main shore and the bridge over Route 472. Uplake on the eastern shore, just before reaching the Lancaster Pike bridge, a nice spit of land juts out from the main shoreline. Look for spawning largemouths to be in this area. It has a shallow dropoff, and the bass will cruise this spot.

An area of Octoraro Reservoir above the dam is off-limits to fishing. However, a long peninsula forms the northeastern shoreline above the dam. At the end of this peninsula, and around the bend, there is some excellent structure, mostly in the form of points and uneven shoreline.

Try the point on the western shore opposite the dam and the small bay tucked in behind this shoreline.

Rounding the peninsula and heading up the lake, look to the northern shore for another major point.

As the season progresses, expect to see murkier water with visibility of no more than a few feet.

The lake has an abundant perch population, so perch-colored crankbaits are a hot item for Chester-Octoraro largemouths.

Chester-Octoraro Lake is northwest of Route 1 on Route 472, which leads right up to the lake. For more information, call the Chester Water Authority at (717) 529-2488 or Jim Neary’s tackle shop at (717) 539-2488, where motors and rowboats may be rented.

PROMISED LAND LOWER LAKE
If you don’t like fishing among stumps or the boggy shorelines typical of Pocono Mountain lakes, stay away from the 173-acre Promised Land Lower Lake in Pike County.