I think you will have difficulty selling to someone outside of the local market area. All of the negatives you've listed--trashy town, no downtown, no nearby restaurants, etc. are not what people looking for a weekend place want. Why would I want to drive 2-3 hours from my metro area to buy a weekend, lakefront home and want to deal with that?

The house is worth what the LOCAL market dictates it is worth. The value has nothing to do with what is the best price for you personally.

Sorry to sound harsh, but I think your hope here is unrealistic.

Once your local agent puts the listing in the MLS, all of the third party sites, like Zillow and Trulia and Realttor.com will pick it up. So your listing will be exposed Nationally.

Would anyone on the lake want it? Maybe for a friend or relative?
I agree with Rrah. You aren't going to get more than it's worth for your home, no matter how you try to market it.

**Why would I want to drive 2-3 hours from my metro area to buy a weekend, lakefront home and want to deal with that? **

There are a lot of die-hard fisherman and outdoorsman that couldn't care less about the town just as long as they can be on the water from sun-up to sun-down. As long as there's a bait shop that sells beer and a dock/pier to make water entry with their john-boat or kayak easy, they're happy as clams.

"...Why would I want to drive 2-3 hours from my metro area to buy a weekend, lakefront home and want to deal with that?..."

You're describing my town here in Vermont!

Closest mall is an hour away.
NO Starbucks anywhere nearby!
Local restaurants where you can pronounce what's on the menu.
A general store. Closest supermarket is 12 miles away.
Nobody knows where the front door key is.
Low crime.

We have a saying here: "When we want to get away from it all... we stay home."

I moved here from the most densely populated state in the east. The entire area where I lived was a "metro" area. I can say with all honesty they don't PRINT enough money to make me live there again!

Now back to the topic:
The house in question is worth what it is. No amount of marketing will bring in a higher price than what the appraised value is. But the marketing should be aimed at vacation home buyers. And a good agent with experience in this area should handle the sale.

Jewel, Die hard fisherman don't fish on lakes with a limit on motor horsepower.

NC -- considering that I live on such a lake, I can tell you that you're full of hot air.

I've lived next to a tournament bass fisherman. They live to get from fishing hole to fishing hole as fast as possible. They have competitions on their personal boats for getting oomph into the engines. The loud noise and smoke on Sundays while they tuned their engines is one reason why I used to live next to a tournament bass fisherman.

Sorry, but those kind of serious fishermen would consider a nice quiet lake like that to be completely out of the question. That's a leisure lake, for the retired sit in the sun on the dock kinda fisherman. Market to them! But those kinda folks want easy access to emergency services, doctors, and hospital access. Chart those 15 minute routes and use that as a selling point. Make a list of local doctors and their specialties.

And they want to go grocery shopping close, without having to worry about ending up some place "unsavory". That's where it's going to all fall apart for anyone out of the area considering the home.

People use Google Maps second nature these days. They'll check out the whole location without ever leaving their armchairs. Are there any plans by the community to address this unsavory area? Downtown redevelopment? New industries coming to town? Who is taking on that challenge? Without some plan by the community to try to address the reputation of the town, out of towners only have that existing reputation to judge the place by. You're not going to be able to hide it, so find a way to address the problem head on.

Obviously, there are different definitions of "die hard" fishermen, many of which are not at all are interested in tournament-type fishing competitions.

The guys (and some ladies) who are at the local gas station every Saturday morning at 5:00am to buy crickets and worms so they can quietly spend all week-end cruising the shallows looking for large-mouthed bass are just as fervent of fishermen, albeit different, than the ones with the power boats who want miles and miles of lake.

OP, do advertise your listing in cities within 2-3 hours drive from your property. There will be families where the quiet and isolation of your leisure lake is exactly what they want for their week-end place.

Regardless of the engines... the die-hard fishermen I know would not be happy with catch & release (which is mentioned by the OP).

This discussion is really interesting and valuable. All of your viewpoints are very much appreciated!

Just wanted to let you know that I'm reading every comment and thinking hard about the various insights and perspectives. Thanks.

We have a river nearby that is known for its brown trout. There are fishermen/women in the river all the time... and it's catch and release.

Are you sure those would are large mouth bass, and not small mouth bass? You don't want to advertise the wrong fish.
But back to your question, your listing will be advertised Nationally once it is put into almost any MLS.
Also, I am assuming that there are a lot of fishing lakes in that part of the Country. Look at the ones within 3 or four hours of your location and see what they have to offer as far as lake features, schools and retail and towns. This may give you a better idea how to market your home.
Also, if I had a choice to sell in 2015 or 2016, I would do it now. Interest rates will rise quite quickly once the Fed stops holding them down. Higher rates mean less buyers for a particular price range.

We bought a house on a private small lake with those same restrictions (but we are encouraged to keep the fish we catch because we, as a group, stock it yearly) and couldn't be happier. It's out in the country, not close to much except a little town of about 20,000. Some stores & a few restaurants but that's Ok with us. We have lots of die hard fishermen that live here for the peace & quiet but tournament fish on bigger lakes with their bigger boats. In addition to the mls, I'd post it on lakehouse.com. That's where we found ours & it might open you up to exactly the type of people you need because they know exactly what they are looking for. Good luck!