Best Connecticut Spring Bass Lakes

Crystal Lake:

• Bass anglers often overlook this pond because it is so often referred to as a great trout fishery. Each year, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection releases about 16,000 trout into 183-acre Crystal Lake in Ellington. Thanks to its deep, 42-foot basin, trout often survive through the summer and live long enough to grow to trophy size. As a result, the lake falls under the state’s special “Trophy Trout Lake” regulations.
• One purpose of these regulations is to allow fishing during March, while most other trout-stocked lakes close in February. This extended season is a bonus for trouters but it also enables bass anglers to take advantage of the lake’s fine early-spring largemouth bass fishery.
• The lake has a gravel and sand bottom with very clear water. Its average depth is about 25 feet. Anglers will find an extensive shoal around the lake’s perimeter running between 3 to 8 feet deep -- an ideal depth for spring bass. According to DEP reports, anglers can expect to catch plenty of bass between 12 and 16 inches.
• Golden shiners and banded killifish are the main forage at Crystal Lake. Of course, anglers should select lures that imitate these baitfish.
• Access comes from a state-owned boat-launching ramp on the west side of the lake. Take Exit 67 off Interstate Route 84 onto Route 31 north. Turn north on Route 30. Continue on Route 30 for half a mile past the Route 30/140 intersection before turning right onto West Shore Road to the launch ramp. The state DEP enforces a 6-mile-per-hour speed limit between sunset and 9 a.m. During the day, boats may cruise up to 45 miles per hour.

Batterson Park Pond

• One of the state’s best-kept secret bass lakes is Batterson Park Pond in the city of New Britain. This 140-acre lake is part of a town park, and shoreline development is non-existent. It has a maximum depth of 20 feet, with an average depth of 14 feet. This “average” depth is somewhat deceiving, since the lake has a well-defined shoal between three and six feet.
• According to fisheries biologists, this lake has a good supply of bass in the 14- to 19-inch range, with bigger bass showing up fairly frequently. To add attraction, the lake gets an annual stocking of walleyes. In the early spring, both species are relatively easy to catch.
  The forage base in the pond is centered on crayfish and small eels. Lure selection should reflect the bass diet.
• The DEP maintains a boat launching area at the south end of the lake. Take Exit 37 off I-84. Travel south on Finneman Road for about half a mile. Turn left onto Alexander Road to the launch ramp. Most of the shoreline is open for fishing. Boating on the lake is limited to paddle boats and electric motors. Gas motors are prohibited.

Babcock Pond

• Anyone looking for a small pond away from roads, houses and pleasure boats should try Babcock Pond in Colchester. This 119-acre pond is completely surrounded by the Babcock Wildlife Management Area. It is a shallow pond with a 6-foot maximum depth, thus its water warms fast in the spring sunlight. For the most part, the pond is weedy.
• Golden shiners and small chain pickerel are abundant, and largemouth bass feast on both species. Elongated minnow-shaped lures worked around the budding spring weed growth should entice Babcock Pond largemouths.
• Anglers will find a small cartop boat-launching area on the north end of the pond. Take Exit 16 off Route 2 onto Route 149 south. Turn east onto Route 16. The ramp is one mile from the turn, adjacent to the wildlife observation area. Signs mark the area. There is an 8-mile-per-hour speed limit on the lake.

Pine Acres Lake

• Many lakes in Connecticut are difficult to fish during summer because of the heavy weed growth. Pine Acres Lake is one such pond. This 190-acre pond becomes weed-choked by late spring. But in the early spring, bass anglers can work the pond without much difficulty.
• The better bass fishing occurs in the southern end of the pond where water is deepest, averaging 3 to 5 feet. Largemouth bass in this pond are well fed because the abundant forage base contains several species of minnow, stunted panfish and tiny bullheads. Any favorite springtime bass lures should work on Pine Acres Lake.
• This pond lies within James L. Goodwin State Forest in Hampton. The shoreline is forested and pristine. It has a very good boat-launching area on the southern end of the lake off Route 6 about eight miles east of the city of Willimantic. Boaters are restricted to electric motors only.

Fishing license fees for Connecticut residents are $20 for the season. Non-resident license fees are $40 for the season, or $16 for a three-day permit. For fishing and licensing information, contact the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, Inland Fisheries Division, 79 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or call (860) 424-3475.

For tourism information, write to the Connecticut Tourism Division, 14 Rumford St., West Hartford, CT 06107; or call 1-800-282-6863.