CTFishTalk.com: Hartell Lakes MO and new PB! - Connecticut Out of State Reports ( CT Out of State Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

pdcrack · Joined: 01 Jul 2008 Posts: 727 Location: Wethersfield CT

Hey everyone,
had to take advantage of the weather (it was about 85 degrees and sunny) and hit the water. There was a 10-20 mph swirling wind at times. I fished Hartell Lakes in MO which is part of a reservation. All fishing is catch and release only and only artificial baits/lures are allowed (unscented). They are pretty strict about this and I had a department guy check my fishing license within an hour or so.

This place holds some monsters...Ive read there are a few 10+ pound bass in there, so I figured I would go check it out. Its pretty cool, there are about 5 ponds/lakes and at each one there is a row boat in which you can use (free of charge). It was windy and I was by myself but I attempted to boat for a little while and realized quickly that was a mistake. Decided to fish from shore the rest of the day.

There were a lot of medium size bass in the shallows, I could see them chasing off smaller fish and defending beds. Water was very clear, there is a ton of good weedline structure, some timber, and even some lillys mixed in.

Started off the day with a small bass on a white/green spinner from the shallows. Caught another one on the spinner and moved to another lake. I could spot some bass probably 20 feet from shore in the shallows and decided to try enticing them w the spinner, no luck. Switched over to a lipless crank and got one to chase it down and hooked into a solid 3lb fish, very lively and good fight in her.

Next I headed over to the opposite side of the lake, there is a handicap ramp/floating dock type thing with a great deal of structure around it including rocks, a nice dropoff and some tall weeds. I decided to pitch the docks and missed a solid bite on a sexy shad jig with chartreuse craw trailer. Continued to pitch the docks and work my way through the weed bed and hooked into this behemoth which happens to be my PB at 6.5#. I knew it was a solid bite and gave a monster hook set only to think that I layed into a log...then all of a sudden the line starts running out on me and I got that rush of excitement. Brought em in and snapped a couple quick pics and released her unharmed. Pic isnt the best angle but this thing was fat and lengthy, should have measured her.

Fished the banks of another lake with a jerkbait and landed a couple huge sunfish that was sort of weird, as well as a crappie and some smaller bass. Also ran across this snake, which I think was a crayfish snake (non venomous but still made me a little uneasy haha).

'

All in all it was a good day, probably 7 or so bass, 2 big sunfish, a crappie, and most importantly my new PB largemouth!!! Laughing

Tight lines everyone, summer is right around the corner!
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DirtyDawg10 · Joined: 27 May 2009 Posts: 2238 Location: Granby, CT

Nice hawg!! Congrats on the PB!

jimbojonez · Joined: 04 Feb 2012 Posts: 295 Location: Berlin/Kensington

Sounds like a great place and a great time! Bravo on your trophy!!!
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Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Congrats on new PB!