Robertson Mill Pond is a 60 acre mill pond located on Buffalo creek near the town of Wendell , NC This millpond on Buffalo Creek was impounded sometime around 1820 and has survivied countless hurricanes. Buffalo Creek is a tributary of the Little river in Johnston County and this millpond is located on mile 25 of Buffalo creek. This mill pond is now an 85 acre Wake County park and sees lots and lots of visitors. This is a great place to paddle and see a Bald Cypress forest. If you plan on fishing this millpond I would suggest during the months of April through September to fish it on a weekday. ( I will have a fishing video and a Drone video located at the bottom of this article ) and fishing info towards the bottom as well.
Park hours are from 8am till sunset 7 days a week and the park is closed on Thanksgiving day, Christmas eve, Christmas day and New Years so this Mill pond park provides 361 days of paddling pleasure! The park facility has 18 parking places, several places for vehicles with canoe/kayak trailers and a small field for over flow parking. No permanentbathrooms are here but they do have a porta-jon bathroom.
Here is a picture of the parking area
This millpond is very shallow but depths near the dam approach 10 feet. The millpond is NOT an open body of water . Basically 90 percent of this millpond you are paddling through a very tight Bald Cypress forest.
Here is an aerial photo of this Millpond and I have the mill ponds aprox banks traced. The brownish colored trees are the cypress trees.
Here is a map of the padde trail
Kayaks can be rented but to do that you need to connect with Tar River Life which handles the rentals.
Here are the boating rules for Robertson Mill Pond
Life jackets are required
Electric motors only, no gasoline motors
All NC fishing & boating regulations apply
There is no launch fee for your own kayak
Now for the fishing !
IMHO old millponds like this only provide so so fishing. That being said they can provide good days and are still fun to fish.
Tropical Storm Chantal had the waters flooding over the dam. This Dam has 2 spillways but basically most of it is an earthan dam with Camp Easter Road being on top of the dam.
Here is a Bing map screenshot of it.
Here is a Picture of the water flowing over the Dam/road on July the 7th
Now here are Pictures of the Road , lake and dam area on August 2 2025 where you can see the water flowing over the road causing severe erosion on the downstream side of the road in several places.
The gates on the spillway have been opened and the Lake is currently drawn down 6-8 ft .
Right here you can see the 4 spillway gates are open.
Very sad, Hopefully they will fix all of this damage within the next year but it may take longer.
Hope Mills lake is a 150 Acre Blackwater lake located on Little Rockfish Creek right in the Town of
Hope Mills, NC. Origianly dammed in 1839 for a millpond the Dam broke in 2003
during a major flood and the new dam was not in place and closed until June 2008 and refilled in August of 2008. This dam had a fish ladder . This Dam failed in 2010 because of a sinkhole and then a new dam was started on in 2016 and finished it January of 2018. This new dam for whatever reason does not have a fish ladder like the last one. Why??
This Lake has Largemouth Bass , Crappie, Bream, Shellcrackers , Chain Pickerel, cChannel Cats,
Bullheads probably some Carp and even Flathead catfish. Also Amercans Eels as an "Eel Ladder was added to the new dam. Picture of that down below.
This Lake Also Has Alligators so be aware.
I will post a lot of the pictures of the area and ammenieties and comment if you fish this lake.
Warning! The Lake does have a swimming area and limited parking so I would avoid it
Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Also the lake can be divided into 2 Parts. The lower section below the track is bigger and has
Bald Cypress Trees on the edge. Houses are common but the water is deeper. Above the tracks
Cypress are found out from the banks and bream and Bass fising around these is better.
**A permit is need to launch a boat here. I Copied and pasted the info down near the bottom.***
The Ramp is very Nice but only single lane
Port a jons for Bathroons
The Fishing Pier or Observation Deck located to the left of the ramp. I have seen on the internet a Big Blue cat caught here . If I can find it I will post it at the bottom.
The Swimming area is to the right of the Ramp and swimmers cant swim outside the white buoys.
The Dam
The Eel Ladder
The Eel ladder is a square metal Box running from the bottom up beside the dam
ending at the lake where it dumps into a basket. Evidently so they can check
the basket and see how many made the climb.
You can click on this and make it Bigger and easier to read
The Lake has a covered Picnic/eating area and when swimming is allowed
they sell refreshments.
Lower End
Upper End
List of Rules etc for the Lake
Swimming at the lake runs Memorial Day Weekend through Labor Day Weekend.
All boats, motorized and non-motorized must have a valid permit issued by the Town of Hope Mills Parks & Recreation Department. Boat Permits must be completed in-house at the Hope Mills Recreation Center (5770 Rockfish Road Hope Mills, NC 28348) during normal business hours, and are not available for online registration.
REQUIRED: Please make sure to bring a copy of a valid state watercraft registration and copy of insurance certificate showing liability coverage (if motorized)
HOPE MILLS LAKE IS A NO WAKE LAKE
Annual Boat Permit Duration: April 1 – March 31
HOURS
Monday - Saturday: Sunrise to 30 minutes prior to sunset
Sunday: 12:30 pm - 6:30 pm
No boat in excess of 26 feet in length shall be allowed on Hope Mills Lake, only Class A and Class 1 boats are authorized. Personal Water Craft (PWC) are not authorized for use on Hope Mills Lake AND ARE NOT ALLOWED.
PERMITS
Permits are required for all motorized boats and other vessels used on the lake. Fees listed below apply only to motorized boats. Although no fee, permits are required for all non-motorized vessels (i.e. canoes, kayaks, etc.).
Residents (motorized boats only)
Daily - $10
Yearly - $55
Non-Residents (motorized boats only)
Daily - $15
Yearly - $120
All permit fees are non-refundable.
Permit must be displayed on the starboard side of the registered boat at all times during its operation on Hope Mills Lake.
Non-resident permits may be limited in number at the discretion of the Parks and Recreation Department with input from Town Staff to prevent over-crowding.
The Hope Mills Parks & Recreation Department reserves the right to deny any request for a permit, and reserves the right to revoke any permit at any time when not abiding by established policies, rules and regulations governing the use of Hope Mills Lake.
Boats shall be launched and loaded only in areas designated for launching and loading, do not leave boat unattended.
Do not operate boat within 50’ of dam.
NO WATER SKIING
NO RACING
NO WAKE
NO ALCOHOL
Videos -
Nice Flathead Caight below the dam and a big Blue cat caught off the pier
When the dam was busted there had to be several(flatheads and Blues) if not many that made it up
and then got trapped when the new dam was completed.
Flathead Caught Below the Lake
Blue Cat caught from the Pier found of the Fishbrain App.
Thanks, Mack
#hopemillslake
#fishing
#hopemillslakefishing
Sunday, January 21, 2024
Grifton NCWRC Boating Access Area
This Ramp is located on Contentnea creek which is the Biggest tributary to the Neuse River.
This Creek is home to many species so I may miss a few but here they are -
I enjoy anything in the outdoors. Mainly canoeing and fishing but, also hunting, hiking, I love to plant trees and also search for big trees.
I grew up just outside Burlington, N.C. where my parents house sat on a bluff overlooking the Haw River. I can thank the Haw for getting me started in the outdoors. I Have 2 YouTube Channels as well. Mack's Extreme River Fishing and Mack's Public Land Hunting.
Thnaks, Mack
