CTFishTalk.com: lilli on friday - Connecticut Bass Fishing Reports ( CT Bass Fishing Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

will be hitting lilli friday after work! with all the rain i am sure i will be like mine field - but the fishing has been decent all summer so-far! -- if anyone has some reports from this week fill me in! - i will give a report on what i find!

FishAllDay · Joined: 18 May 2011 Posts: 12 Location: Ridgefield, CT

How did you fare? I went also and fished much of the shoreline just east of the pond brook launch. Caught a few decent largemouth and one smallie.

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

we actually did pretty well on lilli got on the water at about 4pm and hit my fav spots and caught some nice fish (top water and wacky worms) - the water was nice and high when we started BY 8pm it was dropping dramatically and so was the fishing! -- BUT all in all another great outing! -- i just started fishing lilli this april and have found a few spots that always have fish! I AM AMAZED at just how good the place is! -- BY contrast we went up to SQ PND on staturday afternoon! AGAIN also started fishing the pnd early spring! - to me sg pnd is the best place in ct to catch all kinds OF BIG FISH! -- NOT SATURDAY worst day of fishing i have had in about 15 years! - but did get ONE FISH a decent walleye and it was my first! SOOOOO the day was not a complete waste!

OH WELL THAT's fishin!

FishAllDay · Joined: 18 May 2011 Posts: 12 Location: Ridgefield, CT

That's awesome! I am relatively new to the lake so I was just wondering, how on earth do you fish it??? My depth finder reads reads sudden drops of 20-30 feet of water only a few feet from shore in most spots. If you do not want to give away any secrets that is totally fine but I feel like I am hopelessly lost out on the water. I can catch the occasional 12" smallmouth or largemouth hanging out by shore with a plastic work or crank bait, but other than that I have not had much luck. Anyone with any tips or lure suggestions would be much appreciated! Thank you!

NorthEastFisherman · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 582

I used to fish lilli twice a week but now i have a slip on candlewood. If you dont have a map already i suggest you get one cause theyre very helpful. I fished the east side of the shepaug arm and got smallmouth up to 5lbs and largemouth up to 6lbs. Anywhere on the east side of the shepaug arm is dynamite but my best spots are right when you enter it. There are two coves right when you enter the cove and ive had big lmb and smb in there as well as some nice pike. I got all most of my bigger fish on spinnerbaits. Blue, white, chartruse, gold, orange, pink, pretty much any spinner bait with two blades does really well. In the earlier months i use river2sea crawfish and they work great for all fish even crappie. When you enter the cove there is a rocky hill with some fallen trees on it to the right and it has a drop off to about 15 fow into a trough and i had a huge pike devour a small rock bass on a retrieve. I didnt know what i was doing and tried pulling in the fish only to feel slack right next to the boat. I shouldve waited for him to swallow it Sad

. Ive also caught several 4lb smallmouth at that spot on crawfish and keitechs. Ive also gotten many 4lb largemouth on spinner baits there near fallen trees laying into the water. And on one casts i had a HUGE lmb jump into the air and spit my spinnerbait out of his mouth. The upper shepaug arm is where all the pike are probably because of the million 4'' perch roaming on top of the weeds. It also has another drop off there with lots of fish on the sonar but ive never gotten something to bite in the drop off section. The upper shepaug arm is also very weedy and shallow so i only hit it in the fall or early spring (march-late april). So basically at this time id go to the shepaug arm and find the trough im talking about on the east side right when you enter it. Theres a big mansion alittle bit after it. Id drop anchor just before the dropoff and dropshot a minnow. Or if you dont like waiting and are more of a cast n retrieve person then id throw copper bladed spinnerbaits. Brighter colors on sunnier days. Duller colors on darker days. An all around color would be blue with silver. The pond brook cove has fish in it but gets fished often by the kayaking and canoeing people because its nice and calm in there. Theres also carp in that cove!! But id focus mostly on the shepaug arm where the big fish roam!
_________________
YouTube Channel: NorthEastFisherman

NorthEastFisherman · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 582

Oh and there is alot of big drop offs especially in the main area where the bridge is and up to the newtown boat launch. Fish the fallen trees instead of the deeper water and stay away from where many people drive by like the main area. Try to find the calmer places.
_________________
YouTube Channel: NorthEastFisherman

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

i like to fish the shepaug arm take some time to fish first the right side and the left - i usually start up a ways on right at the first small cove with the wall and the chimanaha on the beach! and there are some rocks that stick-out -- i fish it all the way up (BUT NOT ALL OF IT) just areas that look good! till i am parrellel to the rock hazard! - then i start back again on the other side taking my time and hitting spots that look FISHY! and concentrate on any flats with weeds!

next i go towards the dam all the way down till coves pop up on the right - i then cross over and fish rocky shorelines and coves back-up!!

take the time to find the spots --- it is a large lake find some spots you like and mark them as go to areas!

rxpxtx · Joined: 06 May 2012 Posts: 259

I'm from the shoreline, but I'm guessing Lilli is a bit too big to canoe fish?? I've heard so many good things for so long I'd love to get up there some time, but really big lakes can be overwhelming when you're under paddle power. You really just have to target a good spot or two that are close to each other.
_________________
Dave..... I can be a pain in the bass.

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

you could paddle pretty easy from the state launch to and up the sheepaug arm!

CT_BASSman · Joined: 23 May 2011 Posts: 349

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

on hanover rd in newtown!

CT_BASSman · Joined: 23 May 2011 Posts: 349

That seems a pretty far paddle up the shepaug arm lol

rvolkers · Joined: 23 Oct 2011 Posts: 359

fish along the way - it really is not that bad!

NorthEastFisherman · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 582

The launch at hanovers 125$ for the key i believe. Theres one in brookfield thats free but isnt as nice. And from the newtown launch it takes about 30-45mins on a medium calm day to get to the spots i said on the shepaug depending on your paddle speed. But you could fish pond brook cove if you dont feel like paddling much.
_________________
YouTube Channel: NorthEastFisherman

NorthEastFisherman · Joined: 27 May 2012 Posts: 582

Oh i also forgot that the pond brook launch is free as well but is shallower for bigger boats. Thats why canoes, kayaks, and small aluminum boats are launched there. The pond brook launch and newtown launch are the same distance from the shepaug arm.
_________________
YouTube Channel: NorthEastFisherman