CTFishTalk.com: Bantam River and Little Pond 07/07 - Connecticut River Reports ( CT River Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

I paddled and fished Bantam River and Little Pond with mep21 (aka Mark) on Sunday. We got on the river at the canoe launch off of Whites Wood Road in the White Memorial wildlife sanctuary in Litchfield:

When we arrived, there weren't any other cars in the parking lot. I enjoyed a handful of blackberries from a bush next to the launch for breakfast:

There were a couple of sunnies on beds right next to the launch:

I paddled my Hurricane Santee 116 Sport, El Habañero, while Mark paddled his Old Town Vapor 12 XT Angler. We knew that it would be sunny and buggy, so we applied plenty of sunscreen and DEET bug spray before we launched at 7:00 am. Although Mark had been on Bantam River before, he had never fished Little Pond, so we headed upriver into the glare of the rising sun:

I caught the first fish at 7:10 am with a wacky rigged Black with Blue Flake and Blue Tip five inch Senko:

As has often been the case this year, the largemouth bass were more apt to hit a slowly presented lure than a fast moving one. I got three more largemouth bass with the wacky Senko before Mark finally boated one with a Zoom Horny Toad at 7:43 am:

We finally made it to Little Pond at 8:20 am:

Unfortunately, we found bubby green nitrate-fed algae, super thick weeds and huge lily pads:

I paddled into the lily pads, couldn't turn around and had to paddle back out backwards. Shocked

We had the river and pond to ourselves until 9:00 am, when we finally spotted some other paddlers. I threw a Zoom Horny Toad over the pads, the weeds and the algae. Although I got a few small hits, I didn't get any bites. Well, not until 9:05 am:

Although I had finally gotten a fish in Little Pond, the bite was so disappointing that we decided to head back into the river and down to Bantam Lake. Next to one of the many beaver lodges along the river, I boated a rock bass:

We continued to boat the occasional small largemouth bass as we headed downriver. It wasn't until 10:06 am that I boated a largemouth bass worth weighing in the shade of a culvert next to another beaver lodge:

What turned out to be my lunker largemouth bass was only 15-1/2 inches long, but she was a two pound, one ounce fatty. As Mark and I got closer to the canoe launch, we finally got a double:

Whoo hoo!

And then I caught a largemouth bass that met the minimum (maximum?) dinker qualification length of six inches or less:

After we passed the canoe launch, we continued down the river, but the bite pretty much died. However, Mark caught his lunker largemouth bass. It was 16-1/2 inches long and weighed two pounds, one ounce, which tied mine. Although Mark would insist that his was the lunker because of its length, I think mine was prettier, because she was a fatty. Cool

We eventually made it down to the beaver dam near the mouth of the river:

The water level in Bantam Lake is so high that it was an extremely easy paddle over the dam. The southwest wind raised a pretty good chop on the lake:

As much as I dislike the wind when I'm paddling, it sure felt good. By the time that we headed back upriver over the dam, Mark and I were both overheated, thirsty and hungry, so we paddled straight back to the canoe launch. When we arrived there, we hit the rush hour. I had been on Bantam River more than a dozen times over the last three years and had never seen the parking lot so full. We had to dodge kayak and canoe traffic that was both getting onto and getting off from the water. We were off of the water by 3:15 pm. I have to say, that first glass of ice water at the Village Restaurant in Litchfield was the best I've ever had.
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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!

avidangler · Joined: 08 Jan 2013 Posts: 469 Location: Forestville

After SEEING the pictures of little bantam,I'm glad i didn't go this evening.
Weeds are one thing but,ALGAE!?!?! That makes things terrible.
Glad you guy's had a good day and didn't have a day long battle with the deer flies. Wink

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...Randy...

Leeway and elbow room.There's plenty of water to fish!

avidanglingadventures.blogspot.com

"If we concentrated on the really important stuff in life,there'd be a shortage of fishing poles."

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

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

Sounds like a good day even though the bite was slow.

How big was that rock bass in the pic Phil?

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