Lake Candlewood fishing: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie

Target species: Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Black Crappie, Bluegill, Rock Bass, Brown Trout
Boat: 4 ramps and launches on file for this water.
Start here: Launch at Candlewood East Marina.

The lake

Lake Candlewood covers 5,252 acres in Connecticut, across Western Connecticut County. It is a lake: 94.3% of it is 50 feet deep or less; the deepest point measured is at least 80 feet (24.4 m). Our records hold 8 species for this water.

Poet's Landing, Lower Pine Cove, Candlewood Lake, Danbury, Connecticut.jpg
CityLimitsJunction · CC0

Depth and bottom

Deepest measured point: at least 80 ft (24.4 m). That is the deepest contour line: the bottom goes deeper. 94.3% of the water is 50 feet or shallower. We hold 243 depth contour lines for this water.

Candlewood Lake Island House.jpg
CityLimitsJunction · CC0
  • 0–5 ft: 3.5% of the water
  • 5–10 ft: 5.8% of the water
  • 10–15 ft: 7.5% of the water
  • 15–20 ft: 7.7% of the water
  • 20–25 ft: 9.1% of the water
  • 25–30 ft: 9.7% of the water
  • 30–35 ft: 10.8% of the water
  • 35–40 ft: 14.6% of the water
  • 40–45 ft: 16.7% of the water
  • 45–50 ft: 8.9% of the water
  • 50–55 ft: 3.9% of the water
  • 55–60 ft: 0.7% of the water
  • 60–65 ft: 0.2% of the water
  • 65–70 ft: 0.3% of the water
  • 70–75 ft: 0.3% of the water
  • 75–80 ft: 0.4% of the water

6 target fish, led by Largemouth Bass

  • Largemouth Bass — Feeding water: 65–85°F.
  • Smallmouth Bass — Feeding water: 60–75°F.
  • Black Crappie — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Bluegill — Feeding water: 70–85°F.
  • Rock Bass — Feeding water: 65–75°F.
  • Brown Trout — Feeding water: 50–65°F.

Also recorded here: Grass Carp, Common Carp.

Brookfield Town Beach.jpg
AirportExpert · CC BY-SA 4.0

Stocking: 1,500 fish in 2025

Connecticut DEEP Fisheries Division records list 1,500 fish released into this water in 2025.

  • Brown Trout: 1,500 in 2025

4 ramps and launches on this water

On this water we hold 4 boat ramps.

  • Candlewood Lake (Lattins Cove) Boat Launch — Danbury, Candlewood Lake Water Access (Lattins Cove). 8 Forty Acres Mountain Road, Danbury · website portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Boating/Boat-Launches/Candlewood-Lake-Lattins-Cove-Boat-Launch
  • Candlewood Lake (Squantz Cove) Boat Launch — New Fairfield, Squantz Pond State Park. Old Bogus Road, New Fairfield · website portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Boating/Boat-Launches/Candlewood-Lake-Squantz-Cove--Boat-Launch
  • Squantz Pond Boat Launch — New Fairfield, Squantz Pond State Park. 178 Shortwoods Road, New Fairfield · website portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Boating/Boat-Launches/Squantz-Pond-Boat-Launch
  • Candlewood East Marina phone +1-203-775-2253 · website candlewoodeast.com

Fee and opening hours are blank for all 4 places in this list: a blank means we hold no such field, not that it is free or always open, and this list may not be complete.

Water and conditions

Our water temperature readings average 76°F; they do not cover the whole year, so this is not a yearly average. These readings span 2017–2023.

What is hard here

Wind is the limit, not the fish: 5,252 acres of open water build a short steep chop, and there is no shelter in the middle.

Where this data comes from

  • Connecticut DEEP — Connecticut DEEP: depth contours: class A, a survey of the bottom.
  • Webster, K.E., McCullough, I.M., Soranno, P.A. LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0, EDI, doi:10.6073/pasta/64ddc4d04661d9aef4bd702dc5d8984f (CC BY 4.0); Cheruvelil et al. LAGOS-US LOCUS v1.0 (EDI) — LAGOS-US DEPTH v1.0: Lake depth for 17,675 lakes in the conterminous U.S.: class B, a depth figure measured and published by an agency, without a bottom map.