Hey JoeMo

Cancatchbass · Post by **Cancatchbass** » Sat Oct 05, 2002 10:51 pm

I'll be fishing Candlewood next spring, (May)travelling down from Canada. I've never seen the lake, let alone fish it.

The FHS map of the lake shows a lot of man-made structure- sunken roadbeds, etc. Do these hold fish, or am I better off checking out the humps and weedbeds?

In an average year, when do the bass spawn on Candlewood?

Thanks for any help.

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Sun Oct 06, 2002 9:41 pm

Hi CanCatch- While I could give you my take on Candy, I'm going to call on our great Pro Staff to give you a heads-up on this super body of water.

Now, once you have a better feel from the guys on what's happening here, I'd be glad to add some comments from a local point of view.
(Besides, these guys regularly whip my bass!)

Spawning usually takes place in May and early June, but can change depending on the weather. For example, last year was unusually warm through the winter.(The Pro Staffers will address this also, I am sure)

Thanks for posting. We appreciate your picking Bassin'USA. We talk Bass here.

Cancatchbass · Post by **Cancatchbass** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 1:26 am

Well, JoeMo:

Looks like no-one wants to jump into this conversation.

I thought Candlewood is/was a fairly popular lake in the Northeast.

Any suggestions?

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 3:26 am

Well CCB, I did spend 2 consecutive days on the lake this week and (somehow) managed to catch one legal bass each day. They weighed
2.5 lbs and 2.3 lbs. (Weights in tenths of a pound)

If you launch on Candy and fish the shallows at this time, it's possible to catch either or both largemouth and smallmouth. But, it is my opinion that the odds are much better if you explore the deeper waters. We took the shallow route for a good part of our first day. No go! So we went where the electronics showed gazillions of fish. Both of my fish were caught on Mudbugs. The first day (P.M.)
came sitting in 17' and throwing toward 25'.
The second day's bass came where the bottom angled from 35' to 25'.

Now, I realize you are interested in fishing Candlewood in May '03. As I said earlier, I will get Pro Staff Members to lay out the lake and give you some tips on how to solve it.

Candy has a tremendous amount of water milfoil in it. It is fairly clear although not as clear as say, the St. Lawrence River.
Therefore, most anglers (after the Spawn) fish the inside & outside weed lines. If you use things like jerkbaits, Senkos, Tubes, Worms, Jigs, spinnerbaits etc. you should be able to do the same down here.

Now, that's all I'm going to say for now except to mention that it is about 5500 acres and that makes it the largest lake in CT.
I believe Non-Res licenses are $35. per year.
There is a Candlewood Lake Website. I will get you a link for that plus any other helpful information that doesn't sound too much like a commercial.

I hope this has been informative. I will get our Pro Staff to fill in all the blanks. They are great guys and you will like what they provide you.

Be well and thanks for choosing Bassin'USA.
We talk Bass!

SMbass · Post by **SMbass** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 3:59 am

CCB,
You're probably not getting much response from people about Candlewood, because it is such a popular place, especially for tournaments, making many anglers very tight lipped. It sounds like you will be competing in the Foxwoods Bass Challenge tournament,an event were a few of the Pro Staff members will also be competing, making it harder to get them to tell you about the lake. However, if you have experience on Lake St.Clair, perhaps we can exchange info. If you would like you can email me at [email protected].

Joe Mo,
I heard we were both on Candy this past Tuesday. I had a SMB about 4lbs and two LMB between 3 and 3 1/2 on a spider grub in 17' also. My bass were all caught before 9am, then it seemed like the lake was starting to turn over, especially in the Sherman arm as visibility went from 5 feet to less than a foot. The day started out great, but went downhill real fast.

JoeMo · Post by **JoeMo** » Fri Oct 11, 2002 4:12 am

Tim- We didn't get out early. It took almost a half hour to get everything aboard. We started at 8AM. My friend John has a semi-V BPS Tracker 17' with a 40hp by Merc berthed at Chatterton. My wife went with us. We had long periods of nothing punctuated only by the one Smallie I caught. He was crazy, although I had him on 14 lb. test so I doubted he'd get away. Didn't rush him.
We never saw another that day (except on the Electronics) and we never really knew whether they were bass, trout or (ugh!) carp.

The 2nd day we caught some shorts, too. But the bigger Smallie was about 2-1/4 lbs. It was typical funky Fall weather. Didn't know you were there or we would have waved or followed you around. Sure, with our 40 hp.
lol

Thanks for posting. Much obliged

johnnie crain outdoors · Fri Nov 01, 2002 8:54 am

Cancatchbass,
It's always nice to hear from someone up North that loves bass fishin'. I've never been to CN, but I simply want to assure you that a bass, is a bass, is a bass. Baits and techniques that work anywhere else in the good ole' USA will take bass from Candlewood. You most likely will be fishing fish that are spawning and on nests or have already spawned and moved deeper. Bring along a good supply of plastic lizards, tube jigs, small weights and small, sharp hooks. These are for the bass that very well may be spawning. The weedlines would be my guess and any gravel or sand bottomed areas will be good. Do not overlook the roadbeds. The roadbeds close to shore offer excellent spawning grounds. Farther out the roadbeds offer a holding structure for bass that have already spawned. Deep diving crankbaits will do the job as will a jig and pig combination. I will give no advice on color selctions as the water color can change so quickly. Stay with natural shad, perch, bluegill, crawfish and baby bass color schemes and you'll do fine. Each lake is much like each day, you have to contend with what you wake up to. Be positive, be open minded and ask questions of the locals, you'll soon geta feel for the lake. Johnnie Crain-Iowa Pro Staff.

JoeM · Post by **JoeM** » Fri Nov 01, 2002 7:57 pm

Johnnie- You hit the nail right on the head. You've given Cancatchbass just what he needs to be "comfortable" on Candy. Of course, it is still going to require hard work to find the larger bass, but at least he has a good shot at them. Thanks again for a really fine post.

Catch- Keep posting. As the weather goes down hill the anglers dig a little deeper in their experiences to describe techniques. A good time to stay tuned to Bassin'USA.

Thanks, guys. JoeMo

Cancatchbass · Post by **Cancatchbass** » Sat Nov 02, 2002 3:08 am

Thanks, Johnnie:

I appreciate your reply. Looking at the charts for Candlewood there are all kinds of submerged roadbeds, building foundations, and the like. These are structural elements that just don't exist on (under) any of the waters I've ever fished. I've also never fished pre-spawn or spawning bass (illegal here). So you can see the reason for my concerns.

Thanks again,

CCB