CTFishTalk.com: Bantam Lake 10/18 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

When I saw the lousy weather forecast for the next couple of days, I had to get out on the water even though I had only a few hours to fish, so I headed to Bantam Lake. I launched The Other Woman from the residents-only Morris Town Boat Launch Ramp at 9:10 am:

As you can see, it was packed with non-resident riff-raff like myself. Rolling Eyes

No hassles, though. Smile

The air was cool, the sky was totally overcast and there was a slight west wind that built up to a steady five miles per hour during the three hours that I was there. The water was murky, with visibility down to only 1-1/2 feet, and the water temperature ranged between 57 and 58 degrees. I headed clockwise around the south cove from the ramp. I still had a Bluegill patterned one ounce Strike King Bottom Dweller spinnerbait tied on, but it kept getting snagged up with dead weeds off of the bottom, so I soon swapped it out for a Gold Shiner patterned 3/4 ounce War Eagle Screamin Eagle spinnerbait with a trailer hook. I didn't get anything but dead weeds as I passed the Morris Town Beach in the southeast corner of the cove, so threw a wacky rigged five inch senko at the rocks lining the shallow shoreline and boated a short largemouth bass. It looked like the largemouth had narrowly escaped getting eaten by a chain pickerel or northern pike. Both sides of its body had fairly fresh wounds on it:

I continued around the south end of the cove and up the west shore. I mostly threw the spinnerbait, but also dragged a small black buzzbait over the beds of lily pads. It wasn't until I retrieved the spinnerbait past the end of a dock that I saw a 20 inch chain pickerel flash up and hit the trailer hook on the spinnerbait about three feet away from The Other Woman:

I continued around the west and north shores of the cove, before cutting across the cove past the buoy-marked shallow rocks and back to the ramp. I didn't get any more hits. The only fish that my finder marked was 13 feet deep in 14 feet of water. I got off of the water by 12:25 pm. If I had had more time, I would have tried fishing deeper, probably with a Texas rigged soft plastic creature bait in 12 to 15 feet of water.
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slim2043 · Joined: 11 Apr 2011 Posts: 446 Location: Plainville CT

That bass looks in rough shape. He was trying to get his last meal and ended up on your line instead Wink

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jbrown815 · Joined: 06 Sep 2011 Posts: 30

I want a pickerel before the end of the year. I've never caught one.

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

Nice fat pickerel. That bass took a beating.

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

me and SAP had a tough time there last weekend too, real muddy and windy. we were marking alot of fish in the 8-20 foot range, i tried jigging right on them but it was real tough with the wind and didnt really have the right setups for it anyways(7 foot heavy spinning and baitcasting rods for throwing pike lures) if i had my finesse setup i would have tried dropshotting or shakyhead fishing in the deeper water, steve did manage one nice bass though from the laydowns, all 2 of them on the whole lake! the lake managers there should really leave a few more down trees in that lake, seriously, i only saw 2

Flipper · Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 347 Location: Enfield

I think that lake is turning over right now. I was there on the 8th and no fish were seen or caught shallow. Like you guys, I was marking fish on the drop offs/old weedlines in 15ft-20ft of water. The small yellow perch were biting as we caught about 15 of them for bait. Only had 1 good hit and nothing in the boat. I could only stay around south cove - had motor trouble.
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