CTFishTalk.com: Bantam Lake 09/17 - Connecticut Lake Reports ( CT Lake Reports ) - A Community Built for Connecticut Fisherman.

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

My in-laws are visiting for the weekend, so my father-in-law (aka Joe) and I decided to go fishing today. I've taken him fishing on Bantam River before, so we decided to try Bantam Lake this time. We parked next to the canoe shed at Camp Columbia State Park in the southwest corner of the lake. Yes, that's right, I said the canoe shed:

I have no idea why I missed that sign the last time I was there. Confused

It was cold, overcast and windy when we launched at 9:00 am. The north wind was blowing at about 10 miles per hour. Joe paddled La Calabaza and I paddled El Habañero. We each had two setups with a spinnerbait and a buzzbait tied on. We headed up the west shore of the south cove. I felt a fish hitting my big Bluegill patterned Persuader "Imaged Blade" 1/2 ounce double willow blade spinnerbait, but didn't get a bite. After I told Joe that I had missed a small fish, I hooked it on the next cast:

Yeap, it was just an overly ambitious yellow perch. The hook came out through its other eye, but it swam away just fine. Almost immediately after, Joe hooked a largemouth bass with his buzzbait over some lily pads:

It was 17 inches long and weighed 2-3/4 pounds. I think that it was the first fish Joe has ever caught with a buzzbait. We continued up the west shore against the wind. We'd paddle two boatlengths forward and get blown one boatlength back. I continued to throw the spinnerbait to the edges of the lily pad beds along the shore and soon got another hit. I knew almost immediately that it was a big northern pike. After it pulled me around for several minutes, I finally got it into my kayak:

Joe had forgotten his cellphone and I could only take photos of the pike on the Hawg Trough across my lap, so sorry about the composite photo. The pike was longer than the 31 inch long Hawg Trough and did not fit in the frame of a single photo. I'll call it 32 inches long. The cold weather has done wonders for the pike. It fought like crazy and never seemed weak; tired, but not weak. It kicked away strongly as soon as I put it back into the water. Cold weather pike fishing sure beats warm weather pike fishing! After I caught the pike at 9:40 am, we had a long dry spell that I broke with my first largemouth at 11:40 am:

It hit a wacky rigged Senko at the edge of a bed of lily pads to the north of the marina. Shortly after, the wind shifted to the west for a bit and then began to die down. We turned around and headed back down the west shore. By the time that we got off of the water at 3:40 pm, what little wind there was came from the north and we had caught a bunch of fish:

I ended up boating two yellow perch, two northern pike, six largemouth bass, one rock bass and a chain pickerel. I caught most of my fish with the big spinnerbait. Even the little ones. Rolling Eyes

My best largemouth was only 15 inches long and weighed two pounds, two ounces. Joe ended up boating three largemouth bass and a 30+ inch northern pike. Now, I've been giving Joe crap about the pike, because he snag hooked it in the tail Shocked

with a Black Back Chartreuse Strike King KVD 2.5 square bill crankbait. I had to paddle over and net the head of the pike, and then remove one of the hooks of the front treble and two of the hooks of the rear treble from its tail. I didn't get a photo of it, because it managed to twist its head out of the net just as I got the last hook out. What do you think? Does it count? Rolling Eyes

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

Nice job out there. In a tourney I don't think a snag hook counts but that is an honor system thing I think. If you are just out there having fun it counts Wink

therieldeal · Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 245 Location: Thompson, CT

nice pike phil!

i'm really dying to catch some pike, i might have to try mansfield hollow
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PB's:
LMB - 4 pounds - Stump Pond, Thompson
Carp - 11 pounds - W. Thompson Lake, Thompson

Still searching for some toothy critters big enough to be worth weighing...

SAP284 · Joined: 07 Jun 2011 Posts: 655 Location: Central, CT

Hey Phil,

Looks like a great day of fishing! I was going to go to Bantam today but went to Mansfield Hollow last minute. Bantam is on my list for next week definitely!

-Steve

bdiggy · Joined: 15 Aug 2011 Posts: 245 Location: Thomaston, CT

Nice. That shoreline is loaded with fish! That was the same line ours were coming in on last Monday night. Nice catches!

pikePERSUADER1 · Joined: 07 Dec 2010 Posts: 521

phil, where do you park on bantam with cartop access ? i need to do some pike fishing soon! Smile

bdiggy · Joined: 15 Aug 2011 Posts: 245 Location: Thomaston, CT

He did that directly across from the old state lunch, or you can go in on point folly with no charge now that the campgrounds are closed.

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

Here's a map with the Morris "Residents Only" boat launch ramp and the Camp Columbia State Park canoe launch both circled:

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Don't forget to wear sunscreen and don't litter!