CTFishTalk.com: Black Pond 05/06 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

When JJay (aka Jason) suggested that we fish Black Pond in Middlefield during the evening, yesterday, I figured, "Why not?", partly because more than two years had passed since I last fished it. He picked me up at my place and loaded El Habañero onto the roof of his SUV, next to his Future Beach Trophy 126 DLX. When we arrived at the pond, we passed an older Ranger bass boat that had just put out from the water. The parking lot had quite a few cars in it, but they belonged to shore fishermen. On the water, I saw only a canoe with a paddler who didn't appear to be fishing. The steady six to seven mile per hour south wind would have made fishing from a canoe really tough, anyway. The air temperature was in the mid to low 60s, and was forecast to drop to 50 degrees by midnight. TurtleKiss (aka Kira) showed up with Dinghbat as we were unloading our kayaks and gear on the ramp. I immediately paddled over to the shallow cove in the northwest corner of the pond and began throwing a Bullfrog Zoom Horny Toad on a red Number 4 Gamakatsu Offset Shank Worm EWG (i.e., Extra Wide Gap) Hook over the lily pads. The water was clear down at least three feet. On one cast, I saw a swirl in the pads and, when I went back to it, I hooked into a small chain pickerel:

Jason and Kira followed me into the cove. Jason boated a small largemouth bass with a Stanley Ribbit frog, before we decided to head to the shallow cove in the southwest corner of the pond. To reach the southwest corner, you have to go through a narrow channel and a break in an old overgrown stone wall, and then underneath some high tension power lines. Dinghbat is very slow compared to El Habañero, so I beat Kira and Jason into the channel. A wacky rigged Senko thrown at the break in the wall got me my first largemouth bass:

Okay, so it was a Lake Basile sized largemouth bass, but at least it was the target species. Wink

While Jason and Kira headed to the shallows in the far southwest corner, I headed into the deeper open water in the small cove next to the Meriden PBA. The wacky Senko got me another small largemouth bass by the culvert, before I headed back toward the shallows. Jason was having fun with chain pickerel in the pads, while Kira had to stay on the edge of the pads because her trolling motor can't handle the thick Black Pond aquatic vegetation. I paddled into the shady part of the shallows and immediately started getting hits on the frog. I missed more hits than I got, but boated a chain pickerel sandwich made of two almost identical 16 inch largemouth bass with a chain pickerel in between. The first largemouth bass weighed exactly 2.00 pounds and the second weighed 2.05 pounds:

In the second photo, you can see Kira in Dinghbat, way off in the distance behind me. As the sun began to drop lower in the sky, we headed back to the main part of the pond. I caught a 13 inch, 1.08 pound largemouth bass in the channel with the frog on the way there:

By that time, it was 8:06 pm. Unfortunately, as the sun set, the insects rose. Although most of them didn't bite, paddling in the dim light with your mouth open was a really bad idea. At one point, I paddled though a cloud of them and it felt like frozen snow pelting my face in a blizzard. I checked out the cove in the southeast corner of the pond with the frog and the wacky Senko, and trolled a Perch Rapala Jointed Shad Rap JSR05 back and forth in the deeper water along the east shore, but didn't get any hits. When the cold wind rose back up out of the east, I let it blow me into the shallow cove in the northwest corner, where I didn't get any hits or swirls with the frog over the pads. I tied on a big white single hammered copper Colorado blade spinnerbait that Kira made for me, but the "Whump! Whump! Whump!" of the blade didn't get any hits, either. When Jason sent me a text message asking where I was, I told him that I was cold and hungry, and this girly man was ready to go get something to eat. Laughing

We headed off of the water at about 10:00 pm. I didn't see any evidence of bedding activity in the fading light and don't know what the water temperature was, but it was nice to see that the topwater frog bite is picking up almost everywhere.
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DCAJ · Joined: 04 Jun 2012 Posts: 76 Location: Berlin, CT

Good report.
Never had much luck there, although it looks great for bass. I'll have to try it again.

JJay · Joined: 23 Sep 2011 Posts: 113 Location: Farmington, CT

My first time to Black Pond and it turns out to be a nice place - thanks Kira!
For me, it was alot more productive than my local fishing hole (aka batterson) & i'd would come back.

Top water action is my favorite. Landed 5 CP and 2 LMB on Stanely Ribbits cruising my frog over the pads n shallow water. Nothing HUGE like phil's carp.

Phil, I say casting in the same spot twice is definately ok - the fish don't seem to mind and still go for the bite. ( the little ones anyways).

Didin't take much photos as i didn't want my phone to get covered with CP slime.

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

Nice GIF

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

Michael · Joined: 28 Jan 2012 Posts: 3823 Location: Bridgeport

Nice fishing Phil!

rmflint · Joined: 16 Mar 2012 Posts: 360 Location: Wallingford

Horney toads are the bomb there...well any kind of weedless topwater really. I lose something biiiiiig once back in one of those little side areas going toward the smaller pond once. I was fishing with somebody, I forgot who, the fish wouldn't move though he must of hit the toad about 5 times before finally swimming off we just couldn't land him. Seems to be a lot of 1/2 and 1 lbers in that place though. Although I never really gave the deeper water any sort of try.
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PECo · Joined: 06 Oct 2009 Posts: 5203 Location: Avon, CT

rmflint · Joined: 16 Mar 2012 Posts: 360 Location: Wallingford

Huh, so there's hope. What'd she get it on?
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You know it was a good day when your thumb is all scratched up.

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