Waterbury Republican 4/8/06

1. The first two weeks of the trout season provide the best trout fishing because that's when the most trout are available. Every angler has his or her best fishing spot; the following is a guide to some of Western Connecticut's prime inland waters.
2. The three best all-around trout, bass and panfish lakes are Candlewood in New Milford, East Twin in Lakeville and Highland in Winsted. The best pike water is Bantam Lake in Morris, West Hill Pond in New Hartford is the favored loch for kokanee and Squantz Pond is the best walleye water.
3. The best trout rivers are the Farmington and Housatonic most of the year, and the Naugatuck and Pomperaug until Memorial Day. The Connecticut River is the best multiple-fishery river.
4. Candlewood Lake is an excellent bass and trout fishery. It has healthy populations of smallies and bucketmouths. Smallmouths in the three- to five-pound range and largemouths of five to eight pounds have been reported in the last few seasons. Those big bass released last year should be super size this season.
5. Candlewood trouters catch many browns and some rainbows in the three- to five-pound range and a few bruiser browns that weigh six to nine pounds. Experienced anglers claim that Candlewood has the most big brown trout of any water in the state.
6. And the Squantz Pond arm of the lake has its share of large trout and some walloping walleyes that measure more than 22 inches. It should be a great year for catching perch-pike!
7. East Twin Lake has fast become one of the best trophy trout lakes in the state. The large population of alewives, slot limits and a healthy trout stocking program are the reasons why. The 16-pound, 14-ounce state record brown came out of East Twin in 1986 before the DEP Fisheries' focus changed from kokanee to brown trout. East Twin may equal or have exceeded Candlewood in the number of big browns per acre. Lots of bruiser browns are expected to leave East Twin this spring.
8. In addition, the lake has a good supply largemouth, calico and smallmouth bass. The DEP trophy records of East Twin Lake list several calico bass in the two-pound range, many chain pickerel ranging from five to 6.5 pounds and a few lunker largemouth bass. East Twin has a healthy population of bluegills that are fry-pan size.
9. Highland Lake has a triple-treat fishery. The lake has many three to five-pound bronzebacks and five to six-pound largemouths. Trophy Awards records indicate a long list of smallies that were reported caught in the four- to six-pound range. Highland Lake is classified as a lake that supports fishable numbers of holdover browns.
10. One excellent reason to go trouting in the lake is the number of husky browns that have been recorded over the years. There are two reasons why large browns inhabit the lake: The state stocks the lake well, and it has a healthy alewife population. It is known that four- to six-pound browns have come out of the middle basin with great regularity.
11. At Bantam Lake, the ultimate exhilarating experience is hooking into a mini-locomotive: a northern pike. Northerns in the 32- to 40-inch range are caught regularly. A few small gators that stretch the tape from 41 to 46 inches are hooked each year. Some pikers believe that the new state record pike, one over 29 pounds, is in the lake. Note that all pike have to be returned until May 1 when the season opens.
12. Since the demise of the kokanee program at East Twin and Wononscopomuc, West Hill Pond is the best choice for catching kokanee for several reasons. Some 50,000 salmon fry are stocked annually by the DEP, and for many years the salmon in West Hill have grown larger than those in Lakeville. [Bob Gregorski Waterbury Connecticut Republican]