# Barkcamp State Park/Belmont Lake?



## EJVH3

Will be my first time camping at Belmont Lake. I will be taking my fishing kayak and am curious about the bass fishing there in early/mid June. Anyone have experience on this small lake in SE Ohio?


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

I have fished it a few times from a small boat with a trolling motor. The shore line gets real weedy in the summer. I have done decent in shaded coves in the summer. As soon as the shade disappears, so does the bite. Most times we are chasing shade. People say there are some decent bass in there though. 

Also, if you enjoy an adult beverage while camping, make sure you have it in a Solo cup or something like that. The park rangers can sometimes be a PITA about it if you are walking around with cans, it seems to depend who is on duty though.


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## Bad Bub

It's got some big bass in it... I don't necessarily consider it a "numbers" lake, but if you like fishing Texas rigs and jigs around grass and lay down trees, you can usually expect a few decent fish with a good chance at a 5#+ or two


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## redness29

I haven’t fished it in years but when I lived near there a fire tiger big o was my numbers lure in that lake. Used it casting for bass and trolling for saugeye. Pop R was my go to first thing in the morning.


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## Baloogala

I used to fish this lake quite a bit when I was younger, and it can be hit or miss. There are some decent bass in there, but as another has said, look at the numerous coves or find shade. I'm actually probably going to be there a bit tomorrow, so I can let you know what it looks like when I do. Some folks hate the lake, but I typically catch something when I go. I intend to take my kayak there sometime this year; it's a great place for it--not too many boats and I think it's electric only.


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## PapaMike

I grew up in that area but never fished Barkcamp. I'll be going to Flushing in a few weeks to fish a few farm ponds. Maybe I'll stop by Barkcamp and cast a few.


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## bountyhunter

I just looked the camp grnd up there booked for the hole month.


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## redness29

It is electric motor only. I had a 2-man bass hunter when I lived back that way. One of my best spots was the bank where the canoes are laying first thing in the morning. My wife and I used to camp there. We liked the sites at the end of area 3 c loop if you look at the campsite map.


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## Baloogala

Went today and it is mainly a mess if you don't have a boat you can use. I'm not saying you can't fish from shore, but it was tricky. I gave up after a dozen casts--there is some weird scummy looking junk on top of the water near the shore over nearly the entire lake (not algae, but I don't know what it is) and some fairly stout weeds near the shore, too, or in a lot of landing areas for casts. To be honest, most of the time I've fished there was for catfish (and bluegill when I was much younger). If I rented one of their boats or took my kayak, I'd probably do fine, but it's the worst I can remember seeing the water in my lifetime. After giving up I went to Barnesville reservoir #3 (Slope Creek Reservoir) near the dam and caught a single largemouth on a Green Gizzard shad Big Joshy swim; something was chasing shad hard to the surface in numerous spots, mostly out of my casting distance, but the water was in much better shape.


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## Baloogala

bountyhunter said:


> I just looked the camp grnd up there booked for the hole month.


No fooling. I drove through the campground and they were packed. My mother works at the camp store and they've been busy. I stayed at a hotel nearby and was stunned that nearly every room was booked in the area. I asked "what is going on?" and the lady at the hotel said that there are a lot of oil and gas folks there "plus vacations." I told her no offense, that I grew up in the general area (a little south of Moundsville, to be exact), and I wasn't aware of anything to vacation to there apart from July, excepting, I suppose, the casino on the island (if I'm wrong, I'd admit it, but I have never had the trouble I had to find a place to stay in the area before).


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## bountyhunter

true about the oil men but they gotta live just like we do, I,m glad there doing the job.


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## Baloogala

bountyhunter said:


> true about the oil men but they gotta live just like we do, I,m glad there doing the job.


Oh, I'm good with that, that's not what I was meaning. If I came across disparaging, I'm sorry. What I was really questioning was the statement that Morristown, Ohio, is a vacation hotspot. I'd reckon that all but 5% were the fracking guys. In fact, when I was stowing my fishing gear in my trunk last night a couple of them were teasing me about "getting them frack fish." Sorry to be unclear.


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## bountyhunter

no problem, didn,t think your were saying anything about them. after all without them I couldn,t have gas to go play.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

Most of the hotels in the area are filled with oil and gas guys. That is why they have built so many in the last few years around here. St. Clairsville has had 3 or 4 new ones built in the last few years, The Highlands has had a few, and the exit for Belmont has had a couple. There is also an untold number of RV parks that have popped up all through the area. A lot of them stay at local campgrounds too, especially Barkcamp, Sally Buffalo, and Spring Valley

The county commissioners believe that this area could also be a stop for people heading on vacation, if and when the oil drilling slows down. Maybe thats what she meant by "vacationers". Other than Beast of the East and Jamboree in the Hills, I don't see why people would vacation in this area. That may change when WV starts up sports gambling this fall though.


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## Baloogala

That makes sense, Buckeye. I used to camp at Barkcamp and the hotel I stayed at was on the 208 exit (very nice, by the way). I had thought that perhaps they were staying for the Wheeling casino. Either way, I was a bit surprised, but then, I normally stay in the winter when I go down for OVAC wrestling events.

Back on topic, though...I was disappointed in the condition of Belmont lake. When I go back down, I'll either have to rent a boat, take my kayak, or simply go to Barnesville. Close to the shore it was an absolute mess.


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## ChampioNMan

It is extremly weedy, almost to the point of being a pain in the a$$ to fish, ecspecially certain tactics. However, I have been on it twice this year and have caught plenty of bass both times.....just not much size to them.....a few in the 14”-16” range but most are under 12”.
There are some giants in there though and early spring and later in the fall seem to be the time to catch them. I don’t spend alot of time there, usually only when the river is blown out or on weekends when I don’t feel like fighting the masses at the local lakes.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

I was there yesterday catching some bluegill for catfish bait. I saw a few boats and Kayaks out fishing. The lake clarity seemed pretty poor. I know it rained Friday night, but it was worse than expected. Should have just went to a pond out Egypt Valley to catch bluegill for bait. It took way longer than it should have.


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## PapaMike

What's to be caught in Barnesville?


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## Tinknocker1

PapaMike said:


> What's to be caught in Barnesville?


bass ,perch,crappies ,catfish and gills used to have nice shell crackers but i haven't caught any for years. fish are kind of wormy though guess the extra protein won't hurt


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## Dragline

Man it's so disappointing to get home with a mess of fish and while cleaning then see larva crawling out of your filet's.


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## Baloogala

Tinknocker1 said:


> bass ,perch,crappies ,catfish and gills used to have nice shell crackers but i haven't caught any for years. fish are kind of wormy though guess the extra protein won't hurt


I suppose I forget that not everybody throws back everything they catch, so I never thought about that aspect. That said, I'd be hesitant to eat anything out of Belmont because of the swim advisories that have been around for years; Barnesville #3 looked very clean/clear. I'm hoping to take my kayak there in a couple weeks since I had very limited bank access when I was there.


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## BuckeyeFishinNut

They have algae advisories for swimmers (which is not good for anything) but if I remember right they had E. Coli or something along those lines out there a couple years ago. Can't remember if it had to do with run off into the lake or all the geese that are out there. Definitely not a lake I would keep fish out of for consumption.


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