CTFishTalk.com: Stillwater Pond 09/04 - 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) and I fished Stillwater Pond. He paddled La Calabaza and I paddled El Habañero. When we launched at 8:00 am, the air was cool, hazy and humid, the sky was overcast, and there was a slight south wind. We headed south down the shoreline from the ramp to the dam. Derek got a very short largemouth bass out of the pads with a frog, I think. I threw a frog and a wacky Senko, and didn't get a hit until we were almost at the dam, where the wacky Senko got me a short largemouth, too:

Shortly after, a wacky Senko got Derek a small chain pickerel and got me a rock bass:

Not a great start. We talked about fishing deeper, but this was Derek's first time on the pond and my first since early last Summer, so we decided to do more paddling than serious fishing and explore the whole pond. After a total lack of success by the dam on the south end of the pond, Derek tied on a deep diving crankbait, and I tied on a Brown Trout patterned Rapala Original Floater F09 and a big rainbow trout colored Mepps inline bucktail spinner, and we trolled our way to the north end of the pond. Along the way, the crankbait got Derek a small largemouth. I tried throwing the frog and the wacky Senko over and around some beds of lily pads in the shallows of the north end, but got nothing but panfish hits and nibbles. Derek finally boated a keeper largemouth with the frog over some pads on the east shore. We headed into the small river channel that flows into the pond in the northwest corner. Along the deeply cut bank, I finally boated a keeper largemouth with the wacky Senko:

It was 15 inches long and weighed one pound, 11 ounces. When it rains, it pours, I guess, because five minutes later and only five feet up the bank, I boated a 14 incher:

We went all the way up as far as we could without portaging our kayaks, to the bridge that runs over the river. By the way, does anyone know what that river is called? Just wondering. After we headed back into the main body of the pond, I went back to the beds of pads to see whether I could boat a particularly persistent fish that I had missed the first time around. To my surprise, it wasn't a panfish, but a 13 inch largemouth:

Meanwhile, Derek was working his way back to the ramp down the west shore. The wind had risen quite a bit, at times approaching 10 miles per hour. We hugged the west shore to stay out of the worst of it. As I began to catch up with Derek, I boated another 13 incher:

I ended up boating four keepers and at least four shorts. Derek got a total of five, I think. But his favorite fish of the day had to be this rock bass:

Oh, I almost forgot something. At one particularly twiggy laydown on the west shore, Derek accidentally threw his wacky Senko into the bushiest part of the tree. As he started to paddle over to unsnag it, a big largemouth grabbed it and pulled it straight down into the laydown, pulling drag on Derek's reel. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to horse the fish out of the laydown before it managed to pull free of the hook. I'd bet that Derek is still kicking himself over that one. Wink

We got off the water at about 3:00 pm. It wasn't a particularly productive day, but we got to see the whole pond and learned something. As the Most Interesting Man in the World would say, "Fish deeper, my friends." Very Happy

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

The fish were few and far between out there for sure. I only ended up with 5 LMB 1 pickerel and 1 rockbass. The rockbass I caught could have easily eaten some of the bass I caught out there. If anyone has any tips on dropshotting without the use of a fish finder I am very interested. I'm guessing it would involve a lot of dropping and not a lot of catching.

The worst way to end my day was the big one that got away. As Phil said I accidentally threw my worm right into the thickest part of the laydown. I didn't even bother trying to pull it out because I knew it would snag. So I began paddling over and I saw the slack being pulled down quickly. I grabbed my rod and pulled back and the fish pulled drag like a beast. Every time I reeled up it would pull more line out. On the last pull the fish wrapped around a branch and got itself unhooked Mad

I'm guessing it was a big one because I haven't had a fish pull drag like that in a while. It was disappointing to say the least but like Phil said..."at least I learned something"...to chuck the bait right into the thick stuff for the bigguns.

Here's a pic of my frog fish...only slightly over 14" but it was at least a little on the chunky side.

...and the rockbass with a torn up eye from getting caught up in some branches as I was trying to reel it in.

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

I forgot about this one...found it floating on a log in the stream at the North end of the pond. It looks like from my research that this is a female dark fishing spider or another type of fishing spider. It was about 3" to 4" long and she probably had a better day of fishing than I did too Wink

SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi DD & Phil!

Glad to see you guys had luck fishing Stillwater!
Very good fishery there because it doesn't get much pressure!
No gas motors allowed!
There are some big Crappies up at the north end of the pond that hang in the deep water of the old river channel

That river, Phil, is the west branch of the Naugatuck river.
Stillwater is part of the headwaters of the Naugatuck.
Runs thru Torrington, Ct.

FYI: There's a long deep stretch of the river (nice water) that runs parallel to South Main St., Torrington (2-3 miles) that gets no fishing.
Not sure about Bass, but have seen big trout rising there all the time!
Been meaning to try fly fishing it, but haven't gotten around to doing so!
Maybe in the fall when the big Browns swim up to spawn! Thumbs Up

SeaDog1

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

Thanks, Stephen. I was tempted to portage underneath the bridge and see how far up the river we could go, but we still had a lot of shoreline to explore in the pond. I saw only a few trout rising, yesterday.
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SeaDog1 · Joined: 21 Dec 2009 Posts: 2629

Hi Phil!

No can do! -> upstream of the bridge!
Very narrow and very shallow with lots of rocks!

When's the last time you guys tried fishing Park Pond ?

SeaDog1

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

The last time I went to Park was ice fishing in the pouring rain. Not sure if Phil has been back since then.

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

Nope, I haven't been back to Park Pond. I'm planning to buy a Jeep Grand Cherokee with about 11 inches of ground clearance and a big V-8 engine, so that we can go ice fishing wherever we want. Alan Road won't be able to stop us from getting up to Otis Reservoir this Winter.
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Fermat · Joined: 05 Sep 2011 Posts: 4 Location: West Haven

If either of you remember a disgruntled guy with a fly rod trying desperately to get rid of the skunk on his back from an early morning on the Naugatuck, yet very successfully tangling his leader along the shore, AND who may have hooked himself in the leg on the walk back to his car, it may have been me. Maybe.

Anyway, I thought you guys looked mildly familiar and then realized it was from many months of lurking these forums. At least it got me to finally create an account and post something. I promise it won't be the last.
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

You're the guy who was visiting his in-laws? I thought that you went back to your car to get a spinning rod and reel. Surprised

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

I might have seen that guy Very Happy

Glad to see you posted. Welcome aboard!

Fishface · Joined: 02 Jan 2008 Posts: 308 Location: New Britain

Nice job guys, Sorry I missed out