Zoar

[pikemanEd]

Only 2in on kettletown at the end of January is ridiculous. Worst ice season ever for my local area in southern CT

[minger1]

its insane but maybe there is something to this global warming thing ??

[lowaccord66]

its insane but maybe there is something to this global warming thing ??

Yup.  Soon ice fishing will be extinct like the last ice age.  Funny thing though...how'd the last ice age disappear?  Global cooling?  Thank F things warmed up.   

[Jeffsor]

before the warm spell and rain i was there   it was sketchy at best 2.5 inches only went out 50 feet and fished in 3 feet of water  1 perch and 1 gill  the river erodes the front at kettletown every time it rains  need solidweek of cold to get out there  dont count on it

[NorthEastFisherman]

Last year kettletown never froze either, or at least when i checked it. That river and the weeds there ruin it so quickly if theres a warm up in weather. That whole lake is super sketchy i live by the shepaug dam and they open the water gates everyday, constant water flow+ice do not mix well. Shame cause id really like to ice fish it more often, infront of the stevenson by eichler's MAAAAY freeze if it got super cold but i wouldn't trust it. Sad sad year for ice cant wait til it all melts now i'm ready for open water.

[lowaccord66]

Kettletown has its pros and cons in my opinion.  When I first started fishing there it was (and I'm sure may be at times) it was good.  Then as it became more popular it became very difficult to do things "right" there.  It's a tough pill to swallow when you setup by headlamp at 4am and then at 7 have someone drill a hole 4 feet from your trap.  What can you do.  I stopped ice fishing there.  I do fish it in open water frequently, it still has merit.

Anyways, the ice there is tricky. 

[NorthEastFisherman]

I could see that, pretty small cove that nobody wants to venture out deeper in especially with the sketchy ice. Its nice open water but when the waters warm there is ALWAYS someone anchored up in there swimming or people at the beach. Shame that lake doesn't freeze well theres a certain species in there id like to pull up thru a hole.

[lowaccord66]

Never caught one of those there.  We saw monsters there this fall.  A few were clearly over 40".

[Penn920]

Kettletown has its pros and cons in my opinion.  When I first started fishing there it was (and I'm sure may be at times) it was good.  Then as it became more popular it became very difficult to do things "right" there.  It's a tough pill to swallow when you setup by headlamp at 4am and then at 7 have someone drill a hole 4 feet from your trap.  What can you do.  I stopped ice fishing there.  I do fish it in open water frequently, it still has merit.

Anyways, the ice there is tricky.

This has been a huge issue at Mansfield Hollow with people setting up on top of you as you've been setup since 4am!

[ESOX FIX]

keep fishin lilly, the rewards will be much bigger

[NorthEastFisherman]

Never caught one of those there.  We saw monsters there this fall.  A few were clearly over 40".

Im talking about a bit smaller species..gold in color. I heard of an 11lber caught last year, they grew up so fast!

[hardfloor]

I never fisher Zoar. Is there a ton of stunted panfish in there or some kind of over abundant forage? Just wondering why the state would put 8255 fingerlings in there when some of the best lakes in the east only get 1000 to a bit over 2000 stocked. I know the acreage is 3 times the size of the lakes out east but those numbers still don' make sense to me.

[pikemanEd]

I never fisher Zoar. Is there a ton of stunted panfish in there or some kind of over abundant forage? Just wondering why the state would put 8255 fingerlings in there when some of the best lakes in the east only get 1000 to a bit over 2000 stocked. I know the acreage is 3 times the size of the lakes out east but those numbers still don' make sense to me.

Zoar is loaded with stunted white perch. It's also loaded with alwives and spottail shiners as well as fallfish and goldens and all the small gills and crappies a walleye or pike could ever want. The entire lake is a predator fishes buffet

[imsafanct]

I think the same can be said for Mansfield. There are large fish in that place, both pike and bass. Similar situation with the place also being loaded with forage. Goldens, fallfish, perch, crappie and gills. I also imagine more than a few stockies are gobbled up there during the course of the season as they make their way in from the Fenton, the Mount Hope and Natchaug rivers.

-Eric

[hardfloor]

  That is what I kinda figured pikeman, thanks for the insight. I hope the Walleye get that place in balance so they can take a couple 1000 and put them into the other lakes that get more pressure.

[pikemanEd]

  That is what I kinda figured pikeman, thanks for the insight. I hope the Walleye get that place in balance so they can take a couple 1000 and put them into the other lakes that get more pressure.

I think they should put double the amount in and start stocking lilly also. The state should also start a tiger program and stock the housy from the Massachusetts border to Derby/Shelton tidal water

[imsafanct]

pikemaned for president! I’m serious. Those suggestions are money. More pike, more walleye and more tigers sounds like an excellent idea.

-Eric

[fishoninct]

Why would the state put walleyes in Zoar?    It is well documented that PCBs are in the mud. Aren’t precious wallets coveted for their prized meat?  I wouldn’t eat anything from the Housatonic River system.

My 2 cents.

[pikemanEd]

Why would the state put walleyes in Zoar?    It is well documented that PCBs are in the mud. Aren’t precious wallets coveted for their prized meat?  I wouldn’t eat anything from the Housatonic River system.

My 2 cents.

The pcps are at least a foot or 2 under the mud and slit and walleye are fast growing I wouldn't eat a 12lb walleye but ill eat a limit of 18-22in eyes from zoar

[lowaccord66]

Why would the state put walleyes in Zoar?    It is well documented that PCBs are in the mud. Aren’t precious wallets coveted for their prized meat?  I wouldn’t eat anything from the Housatonic River system.

My 2 cents.

To improve the fishery overall.  I think zoar suffers from stunted panfish because no one keeps them knowing about the pcb's.  Walleye will help with that.

For what its worth, the chemicals in processed food are equally bad for you but that doesnt stop many...

[pikemanEd]

To improve the fishery overall.  I think zoar suffers from stunted panfish because no one keeps them knowing about the pcb's.  Walleye will help with that.

For what its worth, the chemicals in processed food are equally bad for you but that doesnt stop many...

I've eaten panfish from the housy lakes my whole life. My grandfather ate fish from the lower housy for 80yrs I don't see a problem with eating housy panfish. Like Jon says processed foods are worse then any fish from the housy

[fishoninct]

The pcps are at least a foot or 2 under the mud and slit and walleye are fast growing I wouldn't eat a 12lb walleye but ill eat a limit of 18-22in eyes from zoar

More concerned about the accumulation from the food web. Just think there are better walleye options than the Housatonic riverbed.  Candlewood used to have them.
To each his own.

[NorthEastFisherman]

Zoar more of a river than a lake imo, currents always ripping past the 84 bridge, and it gets fed at the shepaug dam with 100ft deep cold lilli water, perfect for the walleye and from the studies i've read they're doing quite well compared to other places like mt tom/tyler (has anyone even seen an eye come from there since the stocking?). There are a ton of panfish that the pike cant even keep up with snorkel around and you'll see schools of hundreds of white perch/yellows. I personally would never eat a fish from lilli or zoar but theres people who i've seen fishing from the bank with hand lines who will fill their 5gal buckets to the top with the perch and other smaller fish. They put in so many at first i believe to initially establish the population, now established i think they only put a few thousand in each year. They do stock lilli with a certain predator now, they're growing fast and getting huge, as for walleye i think the state wanted to keep lilli to the esox family, and zoar a mixed bag. I wish more money went to stocking the predators in lakes instead of putting thousands of trout in rivers where they wont even make it past one year.

[lowaccord66]

Lilli's pike will eventually suffer by the same association that put the other fish in.  Mt Tom has keeper eyes.  I almost fished there this evening but its wet AF.

[hardfloor]

The Dep still stocked over 8000 eyes last year according to the fish distribution report. I think they may be hoping for natural reproduction because of the tail water type environment. I wasn't aware of how the water gets in there from Lili. Good to know.

[eiderz]

I don't know DEEP's reason for stocking Zoar, but if it's reproduction it has a chance where most CT lakes/rivers don't. Walleyes need water with a high PH, the fry experience almost 100% mortality in PH below about 7. Most CT lakes are below a PH of 7 because of the bedrock and soil composition, but western CT has some areas of limestone which provides the necessary elevated PH. I don't have access to water quality data for the river, however, my understanding is that Zebra mussels are in Zoar. Zebras need a PH over 7.2 so it may follow that walleyes could spawn successfully in Zoar. One of, if not the, biggest east coast walleye hatchery is on Oneida Lake which is carpeted with Zebra mussels.

[pikemanEd]

I don't know DEEP's reason for stocking Zoar, but if it's reproduction it has a chance where most CT lakes/rivers don't. Walleyes need water with a high PH, the fry experience almost 100% mortality in PH below about 7. Most CT lakes are below a PH of 7 because of the bedrock and soil composition, but western CT has some areas of limestone which provides the necessary elevated PH. I don't have access to water quality data for the river, however, my understanding is that Zebra mussels are in Zoar. Zebras need a PH over 7.2 so it may follow that walleyes could spawn successfully in Zoar. One of, if not the, biggest east coast walleye hatchery is on Oneida Lake which is carpeted with Zebra mussels.

Only obstacle to walleye spawning in zoar is the alwives. If they eat to many it affects the eggs to the point where spawning is not successful. I forget what the alwives produce to do that to the walleye but it definitely affects them

[fishoninct]

Zebras in Lilly too.

[ESOX FIX]

Lilli's pike will eventually suffer by the same association that put the other fish in.  Mt Tom has keeper eyes.  I almost fished there this evening but its wet AF.

the "other" fish in lilly will have little to no effect on it"s pike population. the two spices occupy a different nitch in the ecosystem. 90% of the tigers ive caught in a ct lake were caught over deeper water half way down. hopefully one of these next few years we will get some good ice on lilly. got my eyes on a couple areas that i would never set up for pike.

[eiderz]

Only obstacle to walleye spawning in zoar is the alwives. If they eat to many it affects the eggs to the point where spawning is not successful. I forget what the alwives produce to do that to the walleye but it definitely affects them

It's likely the same thiamine deficiency that is problematic for salmonids.