Connecticut Bassin' 6/28-6/29

[Lard Almighty]

I spent the weekend fishing western Connecticut with local bass pro Paul Mueller. Our first stop was Candlewood Lake on Saturday. We were greeted by a largely cloudless sky and zero wind; the worst conditions possible. To make matters worse, the fish were behind schedule due to the rough winter, and were in the middle of their post-spawn funk. We spent most of the day pitching craws with punch skirts at the edges and holes of grassbeds. In 6+ hours of fishing, we boated a little over a dozen bass, including one largie and one smallie that were in the 3.5 to 4 lb range. Fish were pretty scattered, and we had to do a lot of moving around to put a catch together.

Sunday brought nearly identical weather, but a different lake. We made the drive north to Lake Waramaug, which Paul informed me was a largemouth hotspot. We tried a few different tactics, including topwater, swimbaits, wacky-rigged senkos, and shakey heads, with each producing at least a few fish. The most consistent tactic was fishing weightless senkos around docks, but most of the fish produced were small. The largest fish came on the shakey heads, but getting them to bite was tricky. We fished for about 9 hours, and produced about 20-25 bass with a few pickerel and rock bass mixed in. Bass were all largemouths, the biggest being around 4 lbs.

Overall the fishing was pretty tough, but we managed a handful of decent fish. I certainly saw the potential in both the lakes we fished. Nothing truly picture-worthy, so I'll leave the visuals to your imaginations (at least until the videos are ready).