CTFishTalk.com: Batterson Park Pond 07/15 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

DirtyDawg10 (aka Derek), TurtleKiss (aka Kira), korrupt3dazn (aka Long), Basstrapper (aka Will), Fishface (aka Tim) and I fished Batterson Park Pond in the evening. We were looking for some full moon walleye. When I arrived at about 6:30 pm, Derek was already on the water, and Kira and Long were preparing to launch their boats. It was warm and partly cloudy, but sunny, and there was just a slight breeze out of the north. Strangely though, the breeze seemed to blow down only the east side of the pond. Confused

Will showed up shortly after I launched. I pedaled The Other Woman (aka my Hobie Pro Angler) over to the west shore. I had a bullfrog Zoom Horny Toad on a red Gamakatsu 4/0 Offset Shank EWG worm hook still tied on from the morning's action and was determined to boat a fish with it. I threw it over the weeds in the shallows over the rock wall and worked my way north up the shore. After I turned the first corner, Tim paddled up in El Tortuga (aka his Future Beach Trophy 126 DLX) and we worked the shore together. When we were halfway up the shore to the boathouse and beach, I wasn't getting any hits on the frog and Tim wasn't getting any hits on a crankbait, so I stopped resisting the urge and tied on a wacky rigged five inch green pumpkin/red flake Senko. On my first cast toward a small shrub that was overhanging the shore, I got a nibble. I told Tim that it felt like just a perch or sunny, but on my second cast I got a bite and knew immediately that it was a largemouth bass by the way it pulled my line toward the middle of the pond:

It was 17 inches long and weighed two pounds, 13 ounces. I love wacky Senkos! Very Happy

Off of another shrub a little further up the shore, I boated a short largemouth:

After I released the short, I pedaled toward the submerged island in the middle of the pond to investigate some splashing on the surface. The water was boiling with feeding fish. I figured that they were schooling white perch and threw a silver Rapala F07 Original Floater at them. Yeap, I was right:

If anyone wants to target schools of small white perch at night, Batterson's your place. You'd probably kill them there with a crappie rig. I boated two of them with the Rapala, but I wasn't targeting perch and still had a frog tied on, so I headed to the submerged island to do some frogging over the weeds. Meanwhile, Tim was boating some largemouth on the shore with a wacky Senko. But it didn't take long before I got a hit with the frog and boated a small largemouth:

That's the marker buoy for the submerged island behind me. My Horny Toad got pretty ripped up, so I replaced it with a catalpa Stanley Ribbit. Five minutes later, I boated another largemouth:

And several minutes later, I missed the hookset on another. A little bit of cursing followed. Sonofab*!@# Mad

Tim paddled over to find out the reason for the ruckus. I told him that the frog was working and a few minutes later, as he tied one on himself, I showed him how it's done:

It was a skinny 16 inch, two pound largemouth that had six inches of monofilament line sticking out of its anus:

I trimmed back the mono and released it relatively unscathed. That's why I prefer braided line! Cool

As darkness fell, I heard a splash next to my boat. As I turned to ask Tim whether he had heard it too, I realized that the splash was Tim's frog getting inhaled by a largemouth when I saw him reel in his slack line and set the hook. Fish on! As darkness fell, Tim boated his first ever fish while froggin':

It weighed two pounds, 14 ounces, and is the biggest fish that Tim has ever caught with braided line. He mentioned that it's nice being able to feel everything with braid, unlike with his usual stretchy monofilament. Wink

Unfortunately, the frog bite died with the fading light. But we were there for walleye, anyway. So after I unhooked The Other Woman from Long's Jitterbug Rolling Eyes

and everyone headed off to look for them, I threw my Rapala out and began pedaling up the shore in front of the beach. Almost immediately, I got a hit from a small fish and, whaddaya know, it was a 13 inch walleye:

I trolled back down the west shore, across the pond, up the breezy east shore, across the north shore, and back to the west shore without a hit from anything but weeds. But when I got back to the shore in front of the beach, I got a hit from an actual fish and boated another walleye, a 14 incher this time:

I caught one more white perch with the Rapala and that was it for the night. I think that we would have done better if the clouds hadn't obscured the light of the full moon as much as they did. The water was like glass on the west side of the pond and white perch rose in schools all over the place. By midnight, when we headed off the water, the air had cooled quite a bit. Although I had a great time fishing in the cool moonlight, I'm already looking forward to dragging a frog over some weeds in the hot sunlight at noon today. Whoo hoo! Very Happy

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Basstrapper · Joined: 04 Apr 2011 Posts: 71 Location: Prospect Ct

had a great time meeting all of you. and fishing. I myself Hooked up to a Real Fat Bass on my 3rd cast after getting there. and not a single strike rest of the day. Unfortunatly the fish did some acrobatics and gave me a good look then left my lure behind and went on his merry way. he be there to be caught another day. And its ok. I had a great time.. nice little lake. and lots of options for styles of fishing. I will def like to go back there again soon. Hope to see you all out there again soon. Have great day guys. Tight Lines!!...

Basstrapper · Joined: 04 Apr 2011 Posts: 71 Location: Prospect Ct

if any of you have a facebook account, feel free to find and invite... use my email.. Basstrapper@gmail.com Love to see fish pics....

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

I had a pretty slow night. I targeted walleye most of the night so I didn't end up with any bass unfortunately. I was using pike shiners and a minnow crankbait most of the night. I only ended up with a pair of perch...one yellow and one white. Still had fun and had good company. Night fishing was much better with at least some moonlight as opposed to the first time I went during the new moon. I'd definitely do it again. Although next time I'm gonna go bassin and if I happen to land a walleye then I'll feel lucky.

spitn.image · Joined: 10 Jul 2011 Posts: 17 Location: Middletown CT

Nice bass man..been wantin to go there..i think you just convinced me to drop the boat in..thanks
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mep21 · Joined: 01 Mar 2011 Posts: 65 Location: West Hartford, CT

I see you're spreading that frogging addiction now Phil. Good to hear. Congrats on the fish guys. Sounds like a good night out on the water. If Derek enjoyed night fishing more than last time, it had to be!

DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

lol...yup it is better to fish at night when you can see more then 2ft in front of your face Very Happy

MarkO · Joined: 12 Nov 2007 Posts: 330

Great job to everyone who went and to catching fish in one of CT's stingiest lakes.

If it ever gets cloudy during the day again, go there at that time...you'll have much better results.

BigSteve · Joined: 05 Jun 2011 Posts: 27

Fish I was fishing that night. I drive by there 10x a day sometimes and never want to fish there. Except that night with the full moon, I was amazed at how much the lake was lit up. I tried fishing my rt. 4 pond/farmington river on 7/16 hoping for the same light, but no light, no fish.