Fishing Traveler

This fishing trip information post is on Candlewood Lake in Connecticut.  This post is meant to assist you in searching for fishing trip information on Candlewood Lake.  Please visit the links on this page to get complete information for your trip.

Candlewood Lake is the largest lake in Connecticut, and one of the largest man-made lakes in the United States. It is eleven miles long and two miles wide at its widest point, resulting in 60 miles of shoreline and approximately 5,420 acres of surface area. It was formed behind a dam south of the Rocky River meeting the Housatonic River. The lake has an average depth of about 30 feet, with some areas reaching depths of 85 feet. The lake is bordered by the towns of Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, and Sherman and is one hour north of New York City.Fish Species

• Largemouth Bass
• Smallmouth Bass
• Rainbow Trout
• Catfish
• Pickerel
• Walleye
• Brown Trout

The lake has some impressive bass fishing according to a Hartford Courant article.

“Two years ago, Candlewood had the fifth-highest average tournament weight in the country with an average of 3 1/4 to 3 1/2 per fish,'’ Cumisky said. `”It used to take a 3-pound average to win a tournament here. Now, you need a 4-pound average to win. “Fifteen years ago, a 3-pound bass was a big fish. Today, a 6-pound bass is a big fish. The lake is full of 3-pound fish, and there are more smallmouths in there than largemouths.'’ This year, the average tournament weight went up even more. One angler came into Cumisky’s shop this spring after catching 10 smallmouths weighing 40 pounds.

Patterns

The Hartford Courant has some pattern suggestions for fishing Candlewood Lake for bass and trout.

In spring, bass tend to congregate in back coves, looking for spots to spawn. By early summer, they have moved into the weeds and water around the islands. By midsummer, they have shifted to the humps in 20 to 35 feet of water in the middle of the lake.

In spring, trout are hardest to find because they are spread around the entire lake. As the water warms, the trout school up in search of cooler depths. They congregate in western areas of the lake because of the steeper slope. On the eastern side, the bottom is mostly flat.

Ice fishing is also good on Candlewood Lake and makes Game & Fish Top 10 New England Ice Fishing Destinations list.  They write about the perch fishing available in December.

Early-season ice-anglers will have their best yellow perch action in the northern half of the lake. Fishermen should concentrate on the coves, including Squantz Cove and Sherman Cove. Both coves are weedy in depths to 8 feet or so.

Fishing Reports

WMI.org has Candlewood Lake fishing reports.  Delaware Valley Outdoors has a report by Roy Edwards on a tournament experience at Candlewood. He describes the lake.

The lake is a beautiful place to behold, with multiple arms, a variety of depths, incoming streams, islands, bottom contours and even waterfalls.

Bergen Bassmasters has a 2004 night fishing tournament report.

Video

Welcome to Lunkerville television has an episode on fishing Candlewood Lake.

Connecticut Fishing Message Boards

Ctfisherman.com has an active message board with posters who know Candlewood Lake. 

Guide Service

Terry Barkasay - Fish in comfort from a fully rigged, tournament caliber, Ranger bass boat, with full-time B.A.S.S. and FLW touring pro and multiple time BASSMasters Classic qualifier Terry Baksay.

Lodging

Cottage Rentals

Candlelight Cottages - Welcome to our cottages situated on the beautiful waters of Squantz Pond and Candlewood Lake where you can enjoy swimming, hiking, fishing, boating or just relaxing with your family on this scenic waterfront site.

Vacation Home Rentals

Vacation Rentals.com, A1Vacations, Vacation Rentals by Owner and Cyber Rentals have several rental homes on the lake.

Bait & Tackle

Candlewood Bait & Tackle - We have one of the best selections of rods, reels, bait and tackle in the Candlewood Lake area. We also repair reels, rods, and load fresh line on reels.

Boat Rentals

Echo Bay Marina - Located in Brookfield, CT, it is easily accessed from Exit 7 off I-84. Echo Bay is located on one of the most beautiful and popular sections of Candlewood Lake and offers a full line of services.  Bowriders and Pontoon boats available for rental.

Lake Maps

Connecticut DEP has a good map. Hot Spots Maps also have a fishing map available.

Pressure

Make no mistake about it, Candlewood is a popular destination.  Its proximity to New York City makes it a getaway for a lot of people.  Weekends can be very busy.  As put by a New York Times travel article.

Even though Candlewood is known as a powerboat lake, many buyers don’t appreciate what that means until their first weekend. A 45-mile-an-hour speed limit has cut down on monster cigarette boats, but many ski boats carry 250-horsepower inboards. So just as real-estate agents like to show houses next to turnpikes on Sunday morning, the preferred time here is Monday through Friday, when everyone is at work.

Nick Ruiz from The Ultimate Bass Fishing Resource Guide elaborates.

A great example of taking such aquatic traffic into account would be Candlewood Lake, located in western Connecticut. By far one of my favorite bass fishing lakes in the northeast, it too has its share of boat traffic, in fact I call it the “bass fishing freeway”. On any given day, you can see boats and water craft of every shape, size, and color on the lake, making for quite a bit of pandemonium for anglers. I, however, plan for this, and work my game plan around it, just as I would any other variable.

The spring also brings a lot of out of state fishermen according to a Hartford Courant article.

“Every spring, you’ll see just as many out-of-state fishermen as there are from in-state,'’ said John Cumisky, owner of The Valley Angler tackle shop on Route 37. “Lakes in all those neighboring states have closed seasons until June to protect the spawn.'’

There is also a very heavy tournament presence on the lake.

That’s what I found for Candlewood Lake. I have made my best effort to be as accurate as possible about the information provided but cannot guarantee its accuracy.  If you have anything to add for a fishing trip to Candlewood, please feel free to comment.  Also if you have taken a fishing trip to Candlewood Lake and would like to write a report, let me know.