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 NOXONTOWN
LAKE
Directions
Noxontown Lake is located in Middletown, Delaware, right by
St.Andrews Prep School, just minutes from the main highway, Rt#1, on
Noxontown Lake Road. It is in New Castle County Delaware, 40 minutes
south of Wilmington.
Rules and Regulations
Noxontown Lake is a privately owned lake, and is bordered on both
sides by St. Andrews school. This is the place that "Dead Poets
Society" with Robin Williams was filmed. They allow fishing here by
the public, but can revoke permission, or prohibit your access at
any time. They do not allow any fishing either before dawn or after
Dusk. They have a groundskeeper that opens and closes a locked,
fenced in area around the lake. They will come to open it at 15
minutes or so, before light, and will lock it up once it is dark. If
your vehicle is in there after this time, you are spending the night
there! They have a 10 HP restrictions on motors, but that was to
stop the army of bass boats that descended on the lake from various
states in the late eighties and early nineties, when the word got
out about the size of the fish in Noxontown. Now, in the last few
years, they have been permitting people with bass boats to come
there, but a NO-WAKE policy is in effect. If you cause a commotion
or disturbance they can prohibit them again, so you must be
respectful. The school has boats docked in the lake on their
property for students to use, and there is an area that is
restricted and marked by signs in the water. They also hold races
there, and there are lanes marked with floats for this purpose, so
be careful with your outboard when fishing or crossing these areas.
They also prohibit alcoholic beverages, and there is a State Game
Warden there at the ramp most times in the spring and summer. He
will check your license, coolers, and boats. The ramp is good, but
has a slight drop-off when you get a few feet in, so launch slowly.
The parking lot itself holds about 8-10 vehicles, but you can park
on the side of the road, and walk back down. There are signs on the
fences clearly stating all the rules.
Locations
Noxontown Lake is larger than most other Delaware Lakes and ponds,
and you need to have a game plan when you arrive for the first time,
as the time you can spend on the lake is limited. The massive decent
of out-of-state anglers is over now, but it still receives it's fair
share of pressure. Many days there will be 8-10 boats here. The area
by the dam and the road to your right after you leave the ramp is
not worth spending your time with. Small bass and panfish are caught
here, but there are better locations. Noxontown is about 4 feet deep
on average, but most of the shoreline up close, is in 1-2 feet of
water. The water is always stained to muddy, so your selections of
lures and colors should reflect that. There are just hundreds of
trees, rocks, gravel, sand, and laydowns, so you need to know where
to spend most of your time. There are various types of vegetation,
including lots of lily pads, that rise above the surface. The
extreme upper end, is shallow and muddy, and holds less large bass
than other sections of the lake.
The first place to start is the North shore, about 200 yards up from
the school. This area is best probed with spinnerbait and buzzbaits
first for active fish, but it is definitely a jig or tube area. Work
all this cover, (and there will be a lot of it), with a 3/8 oz.
black/blue jig with a Zoom or Uncle Josh trailer. Work each limb on
the laydowns, and move in to the bases, before moving on to the
next. The trees extend out over the water from the shore in many
areas, so you need to practice skipping, and pitching, as well as
flipping, if you want to work this lake properly. Work these lures
all the way to the next cove on your right, then move up the lake
about 200 yards, and start over again. These areas all hold large
bass in the 4-8 pound category, and could come anywhere along this
shore. Bass in excess of 9 pounds were caught at Noxontown in the
past, which is why it received so much pressure. Very large bass
still reside here, but the numbers have declined over the years. In
1999, I caught and released a 10.1 pound largemouth from Noxontown,
that was just ounces off the state record. The primary forage is
panfish, white perch, and shad, but there are a good number of
Golden Shiner also. This lake also produced the state record White
Crappie, over 4 1/2 pounds, which can be viewed at the Tackle Box
store, on the main highway, just south of the 13 and 40 split, by
the Dairy Queen. They have a variety of lures and bait, and can give
current lake information also.
The next area to work is the South shoreline by the cabins, and the
adjacent cove. Large bass spawn in this area, and will also feed on
baitfish and frogs, in the coves here, especially in the early
mornings and near dusk. Many bass in excess of 4 pounds were taken
here on 3/8 ounce buzzbaits worked in the brush and pads, and on 4
and 5" Senkos and Tube baits in black and blue. The area by the
launching ramp up to the first cove should be worked thoroughly with
these same lures, and then you should back off and work the same
area, a little further off shore, with a Rat-L-Trap in Chrome/Blue,
and Crawfish patterns, and a Spinnerbait in shad or Bluegill colors,
slow rolled on the drop-off. The areas by the floating docks in the
middle portion of the lake is also a good choice for small straight
tailed worms rigged with a 1/8 ounce bullet sinker, or a Senko, with
no weight. Work them slowly around the floating docks and in the
coves here. The Tournament frog has taken some large bass from the
pads also, and shouldn't be overlooked later in the year.
"Equipment"
You should have a spinning rod in a 6 and 6 1/2 foot length, for the
Senko and small grubs, worms, etc. It should be a high modulus
graphite of good quality such as G.Loomis, and have a quality
spinning reel geared at 5:1:1 or 5:3:1 . You will also need a 6-6
1/2 foot baitcaster, that you can get in close under the overhanging
branches with, and a good Crankin rod in 7 foot length with a medium
and a med/hvy action. A good quality reels geared in 5:3:1 and a
higher speed for the buzzbaits such as a 6:1:1 or a 6:3:1. I use
Stren line in 8-10 pound test on the spinning reels, and 17-20 pound
test on the baitcasters. Remember, get out on the water early, as
soon as it reaches 48-50 degrees. I have caught large bass here
early and late in the year. Sometimes with air temperatures in the
low 30's. Your chance at the fish of a lifetime is possible if you
follow these simple rules.
State Record for Largemouth Bass is 10.6 pounds. This was almost
broken in 1999 with a 10.16 pound largemouth bass caught by Steve
vonBrandt.
Check out Steve's Website:
http://bassfishingstories.webs.com/
http://www.delawaretrophybass.com/
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