There’s gotta be a first time…

The first time is always the most difficult when you’re talking about getting out on a new body of water. First, and this has nothing to do with actually being on the water, is figuring out where to go. Sounds dumb, right. Not so fast mister (or miss). You see the first time involves not only what the body of water is that you’re going to visit, checking the topo map of the place, and getting an idea of the best directions; it also involves figuring out if where you think you’re going to go is totally off base.

I thought figuring out where to go was going to be easy, I mean I bought the New Hampshire license plates to let me get into State Parks for free and since Pawtuckaway Lake was in the State Park, I thought it was a no brainer that I was going to the entrance of that park. Nope. Doing a little research it turns out that the best boat launch isn’t even in the park, the best boat launch is a few miles away and down some twisty and curvy roads.

Paddling.com has a better review of the park and the launch than I could ever do so I’d recommend you visiting that site to get an overview. What I can tell you is that if you have a free weekday, and you’re looking for a little solitude, this is the place to go. I found it so nice, relaxing, and calming, that I didn’t make it out to the main part of the lake.

I got off the water landing a one fish and nearly a second; both good sized pickerel that put up a heck of a fight. While this won’t be the last time on this gem, I’ll also be looking to find the next body of water I can say I’ve been on for the first time. Just one of life’s little adventures.