Ice Fishing at Quaddick Reservoir in Thompson, Connecticut

Quaddick Reservoir in Thompson, Connecticut is as good as it gets for ice fisherman in the northeastern part of the Nutmeg State. That's because Quaddick Reservoir is a northern pike lake, with the population on the rise thanks to the efforts of the Department of Environmental Protection. The stocking of northerns at Quaddick Reservoir has been a success, with some of the monsters taken from the waters eclipsing the 20 pound mark recently. Quaddick is easy to get to and there is plenty of room for everyone on even the most crowded days, making it a great choice for hard water anglers.

Quaddick sprawls over 408 acres in southeastern Thompson, a town that is in the far northeast corner of Connecticut. Quaddick is accessed from Interstate 395 by getting off at Exit 97 and heading east for about 5 miles on Route 44. There are signs for Quaddick on 44, showing you the way to Town Farm Road. When you make the left turn down Town Farm, go a mile and a half until you come to a four-way stop. Continue straight for about a mile and a quarter and you will come to the entrance for the state park.

Unfortunately for ice fishermen, the state keeps the gate to the road leading to the boat ramp closed from November until April, meaning that to get down to the water you need to park in a small lot next to the gate and pull your sled full of equipment about a quarter mile to the lake. Once there you have many options, as Quaddick Reservoir spreads out before you. The water in this area is about eight to ten feet in depth in the winter, but the water levels at Quaddick have been known to fluctuate. If you want a more convenient way onto Quaddick, you can take a slight left onto Brandy Hill Road before you get to the state park entrance and go a half mile until you find parking space alongside the road on either side. Many ice fishermen at Quaddick prefer this, as the lake is right there and much easier to get on and off.

The depth in this part of Quaddick is much less than the northern parts of the lake, with five feet perhaps the deepest point in this section. Quaddick has plenty of northern pike, plus a plethora of pickerel and loads of largemouth bass. An occasional black crappie will offer at a shiner or jig, making Quaddick the destination of choice for many ice fishermen in this part of Connecticut. It is one of only a pair of northern pike lakes in eastern Connecticut, the other being Pachaug Pond, which is found about 30 miles to the south.

Quaddick's ice fishing season extends beyond the end of February, which is the cutoff date for the majority of ponds and lakes in Connecticut. I have been on Quaddick as late as April Fool's Day, with a foot of ice under me. The great thing about the reservoir is that it freezes before almost any other major body of water in the eastern part of the state. For instance, as I write this, Moosup Pond a few miles from my home is entirely open water, while Quaddick has 8 solid inches of ice on it everywhere except the runoff that goes under a bridge on Brandy Hill Road. This means that ice fishermen will have probably until at least mid-March to enjoy trying to land some of Quaddick Reservoirs scaly denizens.

http://www.stateparks.com/quaddick_windham.html