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Candlewood Lake
Connecticut's largest lake and its best-known smallmouth bass fishery.
Depth & Structure
Connecticut's largest lake, a pumped-storage reservoir: average depth 40 ft, maximum 90 ft (Wikipedia). Bass structure is rocky points, humps, boulder fields and submerged vegetation; smallmouth typically 10-20 ft, grouping on deep rock piles and ledges at 25-30 ft in fall and 30-50 ft in winter.
Best Lures
Football jigs on rocky structure, deep-diving crankbaits (13 ft+) along points, grass jigs on vegetation edges and Ned rigs; jerkbaits, crankbaits, tube baits and Ned rigs for spring smallmouth; drop shots in 25-30 ft in fall and drop shots, flutter spoons, blade baits and jigs in winter.
Best Baits
Live shiners or crawfish are reported for largemouth in peak summer heat; otherwise artificials are the main game for bass.
Gear to Bring
Medium-action spinning or baitcasting rods (a smallmouth guide recommends 6-12 lb test line), 2500-4000 reels; finesse drop-shot / Ned tackle for clear, deep rock.
Local Tips
['Focus weed edges and rocky points early morning or late evening, with topwater and crankbaits at those low-light times.', 'Smallmouth feed heavily pre-spawn as water rises into the 50s, then move to gravel/sand nests in the high 50s.']
Shop the Rig
Related Water
Fish photos: smallmouth bass — Wikimedia Commons · largemouth bass — Wikimedia Commons
Fishing regulations, seasons and limits change — always check the current rules for this water before you fish. Spot pins are approximate area markers, not launch or access coordinates.