Candlewood Lake © BGS

About the Lake

Candlewood Lake, located near Danbury, Conn and not far from the NY border (15 minutes from the border), is where the late Bryan Kerchal learned to catch bass. Candlewood contains both largemouth and smallmouth bass and daily 5 fish limits weighing 15 pounds are not uncommon. I heard some 75-100 fish a day catches were made on Candlewood in May-June. The lake is 11 miles long and 5,420 acres and is the largest impoundment in Connecticut. It was created in 1923. It has two main arms numerous coves and a few islands. The clarity is good- usually 10 ft. deep. The lake contains just about any cover you can think of: cliffs, mud flats, weeds, docks, tree stumps, etc.. Below Candlewood was once the town of Jerusalem with homes, buildings, sawmill, church, cemetary and bridges. The lake has a six fish limit with a minimum size of 12 inches.

What and Where to fish ?

Candlewood Lake is a pattern lake. Find a good pattern in one end of the lake and it will most likely work throughout. The season on Candlewood doesn't begin until mid April. Local pros favor the rocky points leading to the spawning flats in the Spring. The primary forage is Alewife so you can bet that the Rattln Rogues and the like will work just great around this time of year. During the Post-spawn fish can still be caught in the shallows except a slower presentation is required. During the summer the weedbeds become the primary source of cover. Good weedjigs work well. Fall is spinnerbait time and probably the best time to score both quantity and quality. Want more information on what to fish for Candlewood? Check out May 1996 B.A.S.S. Times featured fishery. There is much more information in the article.

When to fish ?

Connecticut has no closed season for bass, however, Candlewood opens for bass the third Saturday of April and is open until March 31. Best fishing is from June to October. Just a note - Spring tournaments require a 3 pound average to be competitive. Ten-bass stringers weighing as much as 40 pounds have been recorded in team tournaments. Spring is probably a good time to fish because I heard you can catch trout as easily as bass on each cast. Hey, if you don't do well in your bass tournament at least you can go home with fresh trout for dinner.

How to get there ?

I-84 from New York. There are two state launch ramps. Lattins Cove on the southern end and Squantz Cove ramp on the northern end. For Squantz ramp take exit 6 to Rt. 37 North then to Rt. 39 North- follow to ramp. For Lattins Cove take exit 7 to Rt. 7 North to Rt. 202 NW. I'm not sure of the name of the road off of Rt. 202.

Where to stay ?

I'm really not sure since it's a day trip for me. However, you can contact the Connecticut Tourism Division at (800) 282-6863 for more information.

Licencing Information, Guide Service and Lake Maps ?

Guide service is provided by Bill's Guide Service. You can get a lake map from FHS Maps. (see Map page)

Lake Map