Winchester Lake

Winchester Lake is a 246-acre lake in the Litchfield Hills, one of four lakes that DEEP stocks every year to keep a northern pike fishery going. Its north end is a flooded forest of stumps and timber, the water is dark, and the west-side coves are full of weeds, which makes it a great pike, bass and pickerel lake in every season, through the ice included.

When to fish

• Winter: it sits in one of the coldest parts of the state, so it's among the first lakes with safe ice and among the last to thaw. Pike stay active all winter.
• Around ice-out: yellow perch spawn before the ice goes out, often in early to mid-March, and pike right at ice-out, crashing around in the shallow, weedy back bays.
• Spring: largemouth feed in the sun-warmed shallow bays before spawning, which On The Water says usually happens after the second week of May.
• Summer: pike and bass work the weed edges and the timber.
• Fall: turnover churns the lake; fish suspend over deeper water until it settles, then move shallow again before the ice.

Where to fish

• The west-side coves: the main weed beds (pondweed and tapegrass, with some lily pads). Through the ice, On The Water's writer found more fish just inside these bays than out in the timber.
• The north-end timber: pike and bass hide among the stumps and fallen trees in summer. Many stumps sit right at the surface, so go slowly and wear polarized glasses.
• Deeper open water in fall: baitfish and predators suspend here during turnover.

How to fish it

Through the ice, set tip-ups with shiners and use heavy leaders or wire, since a running fish can reach timber fast. In spring, cast small Texas-rigged soft plastics on light sliding sinkers, or small white or chartreuse spinnerbaits, into the shallow bays. In summer, run spinnerbaits (a trailer hook with a grub helps) and crankbaits along the weed edges for pike, and flip jigs on heavy braid into the timber for largemouth. During fall turnover, deep-running rattling crankbaits and vertical-jigged small plastics find the suspended fish.

Getting there

The state launch is at the south end on West Road, north off Route 263, with paved parking for about 25 cars. There's a low speed limit and no water-skiing, which suits canoes and kayaks; wear a life jacket, since it's easy to get hung up on a stump. Winchester is a Northern Pike Lake with special pike rules; check the Connecticut Freshwater Fishing Guide.