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Best chain pickerel lakes in Connecticut

132 Connecticut waters hold chain pickerel, 132 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. The eastern esox — a lie-in-wait weed-bed assassin that bites all year, including through the ice.

1. Lake Lillinonah — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
2. Candlewood Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Rainbow Trout
3. Lake Housatonic — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
4. Pachaug Pond — 18 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
5. Saugatuck Reservoir — 100 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
6. Lake Zoar — 64 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie
7. Rainbow Reservoir — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
8. Colebrook River Reservoir — 130 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
9. Waramaug Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Rainbow Trout
10. Bantam Lake — 24 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Crappie, Bluegill
11. Bashan Lake — 45 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout
12. Lake Saltonstall — 110 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
13. Aspinook Pond — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
14. East Twin Lake — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
15. Congamond Lakes — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
16. McDonough Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
17. Mansfield Hollow Reservoir — 21 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch
18. Highland Lake — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
19. Shenipsit Lake — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Crappie, Rainbow Trout
20. Coventry Lake — 36 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Crappie
21. Beach Pond — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Bluegill, Rainbow Trout
22. Hopeville Pond — 15 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain Pickerel
23. Moodus Reservoir, Upper — 9 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain Pickerel
24. Hamburg Cove — 16 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Bluegill, Yellow Perch, Chain Pickerel
25. Squantz Pond — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Walleye, Rainbow Trout

…plus 107 more Connecticut waters holding chain pickerel.

When to fish chain pickerel in Connecticut

• Spring 2–10 ft — Early spawner: post-spawn fish prowl warming, weedy bays and eat everything that moves.
• Summer 3–15 ft — Classic ambush game: weed edges, pad fields and dock shade — flashy, steady retrieves.
• Fall 4–15 ft — Feeding hard around the last green weeds as water cools.
• Winter 5–18 ft — One of ice fishing's most reliable biters — shiners on tip-ups over weed flats.

Also in Connecticut: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best rainbow trout lakes · best yellow perch lakes · best common carp lakes · best brown trout lakes · best white perch lakes

Chain Pickerel elsewhere: New Hampshire · Massachusetts · New York · Maine · Rhode Island