CTFishTalk.com: Winchester Lake 07/21 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

DirtyDawg10 (Derek) wanted to go fishing in the evening on Saturday, so we arranged to meet at Winchester Lake at 7:00 pm. When I arrived, there was hardly a cloud in the sky, but the air was already beginning to cool down from the heat of the day. I couldn't feel it at the boat launch ramp on the south end of the lake, but I could see that there was a slight breeze blowing up the lake from the south. It was a beautiful evening:

When I launched in The Other Woman at 6:52 pm, a couple of kids were rowing back to the ramp:

They had been fishing and told me that they had gotten skunked. I headed for the shallow west shore while I waited for Derek to arrive. The water was beautifully clear and a cool 78 degrees. Within 15 minutes, the skunk proved no match for a wacky rigged green pumpkin/red flake five inch Senko, as I boated a couple of short largemouth bass from the edges of the pads along the shore:

There wasn't a lot of fish feeding activity on the surface of the water, even though there were loads of bugs skimming around. The bass seemed to be feeding slowly; they picked up the wacky Senko off of the bottom, instead of hitting it on the fall. Derek arrived a little late and I finally saw him on the water in El Fuego at 7:20 pm. We headed into the first cove on the west shore, where the wacky Senko continued to get picked up by short largemouth bass:

Although I also threw a bullfrog patterned Zoom Horny Toad and a white Strike King Redeye Special spinnerbait over and around the shoreline and the pads, the only lure that got any action was the wacky Senko. About an hour and seven shorts after Derek arrived, I finally boated a keeper:

It was just a 16 incher, but Whoo Hoo! Very Happy

Shortly after, Derek finally boated a fish of his own, but I'll let him fill you in on that. I got one more short in the back of the cove before we headed out of it and further up the west shore as darkness fell. At that point, I switched over to a Strike King Midnight Special spinnerbait. While I really don't like them much, TurtleKiss (aka Kira) does, so I decided to give one a shot. The first hit I got on it felt like I had dragged it through a weed, but then the weed began to pull back. Shocked

I got a 2-1/2 to three pound largemouth bass out of the water next to the boat, but it shook itself free after straightening out the spinnerbait wire. Crying or Very sad

In the darkness, I had reeled it in too far for me to lip it in the water next to the boat. Embarassed

But I had to admit that the Midnight Special actually worked. Wink

Although the bite seemed to slow down after dark, I ended up boating four more largemouth bass with it; 16 inch and 14 inch keepers, and a couple of shorts. Although I enjoyed the cloudless, moonless and starry night, it got downright chilly. By the time we headed off of the water at 1:30 am, the air temperature had fallen to 56 degrees and the water temperature had fallen to 76 degrees. There was a lot of mist on the water. As we approached the ramp, the Midnight Special got me a final fish by the dam:

Rocky!

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

As Phil mentioned it was a beautiful night to be on the water. I wasn't having much luck with the wacky senko like Phil was. I was throwing the senko, a frog and a crankbait while the sun was still up and the only thing I landed was this...

Hey Rocky!! It liked the senko. I'm convinced that Phil had better luck than I because he was using fluoro. In the clear water at Winchester I think my braid, even though it was light braid, made the fish leery. I had a few short strikes that hit the road after the first strike.

Then the darkness fell and I was amazed at how many stars are visible when it is that dark out. There was no moon and it was as dark as it could get on a cloudless night. I pretty much threw spinnerbaits at the shoreline for the rest of the night. I ended up catching four more fish. Two more rockies and two keeper largemouth. The first was a 12" and the second was a 14".

I was happy to be catching fish when we heard others were not having much luck out there. I was also able to catch my first nighttime spinnerbait fish ever. It was a calm beautiful night on the water. I would definitely do it again.

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

Yeap, it was Derek who jinxed me with the rock bass. I would have been more than happy to abdicate my throne as King of the Rock Bass. I almost made it through the whole evening without hooking into one. . . .
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Zach0208 · Joined: 10 Jun 2012 Posts: 75

Nice report, what lights are you guys use at night?

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

I have navigation lights on The Other Woman (aka my Hobie Pro Angler). For fishing, I use a headlamp and a rechargeable spotlight. However, I try to fish with all of the lights out. On a night with a new moon (aka no moonlight) like we had last night, even the glow from the LCD screen on my Humminbird 385ci fish finder on its lowest brightness setting is too bright.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

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

I use a headlamp with white light setting and a red light setting. Then I have a compact LED flashlight if I need more light. I only turn on the light to check for weeds, unhook fish, tie knots or signal other boat traffic. Other then that they stay off.

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

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

Ahhh, the Midnight Special. Always a solid Plan B if they aren't hitting topwater. <3
After dark, I have the most success with a super-slow retrieve in deeper, mostly-weedless areas...the thumping of the blade will attract bass from much greater distances if the sound and flash aren't dampened by vegetation. My night fishing experience at Winchester is limited, but I'd try the open expanses of nothingness that Phil's Aqua-Vu camera revealed when we went ice fishing.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

TurtleKiss · Joined: 09 Mar 2010 Posts: 1200 Location: central CT

BTW Phil, that's the most badass looking 16 inch bass I've seen in a long time.
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Kira

*~ "Not everything about fishing is noble, reasonable and sane..." -Henry Middleton ~*

jjbassfishn · Joined: 17 Jun 2012 Posts: 209 Location: Northwestern CT.

Nice looking chunk! Although winny is a tough place, You can find some toads in there. Sounds like it was a fun evening. TY for the report!
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PB LMB 9.3LBS Winchester Lake
PB SMB 5.8LBS Colebrook Res.
PB Pike 3.85LBS Winchester Lake

Can't catch em sittin on the sofa! Wink