Kayak Lessons In Colchester Ct

This is such a great hobby I can’t understand why everyone does not own a kayak. I really enjoy my kayaks. Yes, I have more than one, but not as many as some. I know someone that has somewhere between 14-17 kayaks. I have only 3, but my wife just doesn’t understand my need.

Right now, I have a great fishing kayak (Wilderness Pongo), a good river kayak (Clearwater Designs Nunu) and a general recreation kayak (Perception Spirit). Each of these boats is good for some things and not so good for others.

What kind of boat is perfect for you, it depends. It depends on your size, where you’re going to kayak, how much stuff you want to take with you, etc. The Pongo was my third attempt at finding the perfect fishing kayak. River kayaking is a world apart from lake kayaking; they use different kayaks and paddles.

If your want kayak lessons, want to talk about equipment or where to go (in the Colchester area), write me at stevehoward@prudentialct.com. The season is almost over, but it is a great time to buy a new or used boat!

Fishing Red Cedar Lake August 28th

Today I fished Red Cedar lake in Lebanon, CT. Fishing was slow with bites that I could not catch, probably small fish. I caught a couple small fish and a couple of medium size bass. Fishing got much better when I started using hula grubs. I caught a total of 11 fish, most of them 11-13" bass. The rain was supposed to hold off to 2pm, but it started around 10am. I didn't have a raincoat, but I hoped it was going to stop. By 11am I decided that it wasn't going to stop and went home.

Kayaking the Farmington River August 25th

Alex and I took his friend Zak to the Farmington River for a kayak trip. We had a great time creek bashing, chasing ducks/geese and the boys tried out the rope swing. It was Zaks first time white water kayaking and he made it without tipping over.

Fishing Lake WIlliams August 24th

This morning I fished Lake Williams in Lebanon, CT. I arrived before dawn and was surprised to find a breeze on the lake. Conditions were not ideal but I was able to catch 8 fish before I had to leave. I caught a few small perch, pickerel and 4 good (11-13") bass. They were not interested in the senkos today. I ended up catching the fish on a tequila colored power worm.


This property is for sale at Lake Williams. It is a house with beach rights.

Red Cedar Lake Fishing August 18th

I took a friends son fishing yesterday to Red Cedar Lake. He loves to fish, but his family is not into it. I let him use one of my kayaks and he did very well for the first time kayaking. He caught 2 bass and I caught 8. I used a combination of Yamamoto Senko and a double tailed grub. He used a single tailed grub. It was a pretty good trip considering it was so hot and windy.

Fishing Amston Lake August 14th

Friday, August 12th I was able to spend some time fishing Amston Lake. I had to quit early and do some real estate work. The fish weren't aggressive, but they were biting. I caught a 17" and 9 other smaller bass. I tried other worms, but the only bites I got were on the Senkos. With this weeks warmer weather the fishing seems to have let off. It has been a wierd weather season and the fish don't seem to be following their regular patterns or in the usual spots. Oh well, that's fishing for you.


This house is for sale at Amston Lake. Let me know if you'd like to look at it.

Uncas Lake and Norwich Pond August 12th

I took some time off on Wedneday, the 12th and went to Uncas Pond and Norwich Lake. I fished Uncas Pond from 5:30 to 11:30 had some lunch and then fished Norwich Pond. For the amount of time I spent there I did not catch many fish. At Uncas I caught 5 small bass from 5 - 9 " long. This seems to be a "no Senko zone". I have never caught a fish at these 2 lakes with a Yamamoto Senko. I tried everything in the boat and the only thing that worked was the Zoom U-Tail.

Norwich pond only gave up 4 fish but they were all bigger. I hooked a big 4+ pounder and the first thing he did was to go under a submerged log and hide in the lilly pads. I had to hold the pole with one hand, try to paddle the kayak with the other hand. I managed to paddle the kayak around the log and keep tension on the line long enough to catch the fish. It was 21" long with a girth of 12". That fish made my day and made the whole trip worthwhile. The other 3 bass were 13 - 15" long.


This house is for sale at Uncas Lake. Let me know if you are interested.

Red Cedar Lake August 11th

August 11th I went fishing in the afternoon. I started aroung 5pm and fished until it got so dark I couldn't see the line any more. I caught a cople of pickerel in the middle of the lake and caught a couple of bass furhter down the lake. About 6pm the jet skiers and water skiers came out and the fish stopped biting. I fished the fringe of the lake without luck until just before dark. I don't know if it was a coincidence but it was at this time the water skiers quit for the night too. I ended up with 9 fish, all but the first 2 were bass. The bass were all in the 11-13" range and they were all caught on Yamamoto Senkos of various colors.


(I Just sold this condo. Hip Hip Hooray!)

Fishing Lake Williams August 8

I finally got to go fishing yesterday. The condo closing was on Friday, it was a very hard sale. I went to Lake Williams (Lebanon, CT) on a beautiful day. I have never seen it so crowded with fishermen, there must have been 10 other boats on the lake. As far as I could tell, we were all having a bad day. I caught 4 fish, 3 bass and a small pickerel and I lost my spare pair of glasses over the side. I overheard other fishermen complaining that it has been a bad year for Lake William fishing. My bait was the usual Yamamoto Senkos and Zoom U-Tail Worm. Although I tried everything else in the boat including crankbait to no avail

Amston Lake Fishing August 3rd

After fishing Lake Haywood yesterday I decided to treat myself and fish Amston Lake today. The weather was absolutely perfect. The fish were biting, almost too well. I caught 15 bass, 2 perch, 2 sunfish and a pickerel. I had 20 fish caught and released by 8am. The pickerel was 15" and 3 of the bass were 12 - 13" long. Everything else was small. Once again, the Senkos and grubs were the bait of choice. I really hated quitting fishing this morning, but 20 fish is the agreement I made with my family.

Bass Fishing Lake Haywood August 1st

Saturday, August 1st I fished Lake Haywood in Colchester, CT. The boat launch is half a lake away from where the fish are, but at least we can get on the lake. It is very clean and quiet. No gas powered engines allowed on the lake. I usually don’t catch many fish here, and today was no exception. I only caught 6 bass. Four of them were in the 13- 15” range; the other two were 4” and 6” long. I went there for a change of pace and to try out some deep water fishing. All the fish I caught were in shallow (8 -12 feet) water, but I did spend some time in the deep water. I had two hits and actually had a fish on for about 5 seconds. I might actually learn how to catch them in deep water someday.

Bass Fishing Lake Williams July 31st

On Friday, July 31st, I went to Lake Williams. I arrived before sunrise on a cloudy morning. The fishing was pretty good and I caught 13 bass. Once again the fish were interested in the Yamammoto Senkos, fished “wacky style”. I don’t think it looks like anything in the water, but the wiggle thing it does as it sinks drives aggressive fish to grab it. The only question on most days is, what color do I use today? I use blue, red, lime, green and green/white worms most of the time. The fishing came to an abrupt end when the rain that was supposed to come in the afternoon arrived at 10am. I had afternoon office duty at the office anyway.