JG233

@DogBone_384 Man, I feel like a dumb dumb--I'm at my family's house in CT and I would've fished Candlewood with you (if you had a open seat). I should've reached out. In general, I feel like you're being too hard on yourself. Fishing twelve months a year doesn't really set you up for success. I've always thought of the New England fishing as May - Oct. It's just so unproductive otherwise. Just my two cents. Hang in there man.

haha - yeah maybe bigger?! but I don't fish with a scale these days I moved abroad a few years back, which means I only get to fish when I'm back visiting -- that also means my gear is super limited and I'm trying not to invest in too much new stuff

I fished a 60 acre pond in the kayak yesterday from 2:00 - 6:00. I have no clue about the water temp since my fish finder is apparently dead. I've fished this place once before and only caught a couple. Not sure I'll go back again. It seems like there's one spot near the outlet that produces. I caught basically nothing until getting to that spot. But once there I landed 2 LMB of 3+ lbs. They looked very similar, with big bellies, as you can see below. I got both on a wacky rig up close to some reeds. I'd call it a good day!

Can't wait to be back in New England and fishing for the next two weeks!

I'd love to hook into a 5 lb SMB. Biggest I ever got into was a little over 4 on the Quabbin.

Thanks for the photos @Pumpkin Lizard. I want to check out Lake Waramaug next time. It's a bit bigger there, any general area for me to target there? Feel free to PM me. Cheers!

The 2 bigger LMB I caught looked just like the one in your photo. And I had the same idea about fishing a bladed jig, but didn't move anything with it. All my fish came relatively shallow.

@Pumpkin Lizard I fished Mt. Tom Pond today from sunrise to about noon. I did ok: caught about 7 total, a bunch of small pickerel, but also landed 2 nice LMB that were 2-3 lbs. I targeted all the weed lines, which were mostly dead, but fishing this pond in the spring is probably great because there are a lot of weeds up shallow. It seemed like a very healthy pond. Next time I'll try one of the others recommended in this thread - thanks to all for the recs!

Thanks for the tips. I'll try them on my next trip.

One more try: any opinions?

@DogBone_384 I'll be around in early to mid May (but without gear) if you feel like giving me a backseat in your boat. Lunch or dinner is on me!

For a kayak: Highland or Squantz? What say you CT folks? I only get a day or two of fishing in while I visit from overseas. I'm looking at a map of Highland; it looks real interesting.

Hey man, I'm in Zurich now. I still dip into the forums now and then. I'll reach out when I'm in the US next Spring (probably May). Last time I came I went on an all out bass fishing binge for 48 hours. I'm hoping to do this same next year. I have a one year old son now, so this year has been all about him. Hope all is well!

Thanks for all the info!

@NorcalBassin - which sites do you like these days? Thanks!

That's a beast! Nice one!

Good days on the water. It was a fishing extravaganza: 2 days, 16 hours of fishing and paddling, 40 odd fish, and a very sore back and shoulders. Water temps were around 68 the entire time. Most fish were caught on a paddle tail, ned rig, or grub. I kept it simple and simple worked fine. Most bass were right around 2 lbs, give or take. I might have lost a bigger one who got acrobatic right after I set the hook, but the bass you didn't really see, and lost, is always the biggest one. I also caught the occasional perch and pickerel to keep things interesting. This is the average bass I was catching:

I'll be in the area and fishing soon!

There are 200 pages of info here and lots of water is named. When I first joined years ago I read through this entire thread. Welcome to the forums, have fun!

Edit: Whoops! I meant to respond to the new Candlewood post. Didn't mean to drag this one back up. Quick Candlewood question - is it possible to kayak fish one or two of the bays early or late in the season before or after all the pleasure boats are around? Just wondering where to try and fish, and what ramp to use. Thoughts appreciated. Thanks!

3 words: fish the Q ?

I'll be around soon for a couple weeks. Hope to connect!

I think the warm weather late next week is going to turn things on. Unfortunately by then I'll be on a plane heading back overseas. Hopefully I catch a strong summer bite when I'm back. Until then, good luck all!

No joy @DogBone_384. I spent the day getting kicked all over the Q. I had one SMB on early, but it came unbuttoned at the boat. Otherwise I took the skunk. My fishing partner came up with nada as well, not even a hit. I think I'm taking this week off, maybe the wind will finally calm down.

I fished Bantam Lake in CT yesterday. I launched around 1:00 and wrapped up around 6:00. The water temp peaked at 58 degrees. It was a tough day fighting the wind. I caught a few perch and a 3 lb Pickerel. I still haven't a caught a bass this year! Tomorrow I'm fishing The Q. Hopefully tomorrow is the day.