Candlewood Lake
On July 15, 1926, Connecticut Light & Power Company approved a plan to build a man-made reservoir in order to produce electric power. What would become Candlewood Lake was the first large-scale project in the United States to employ the concept of a pumped-water storage facility. It took Connecticut Light & Power 26 months to complete the construction of Connecticut’s largest lake. The project required that 4,500 acres of woodland be hand cleared. On February 25, 1928, water was first pumped into the valley and by September 29, 1928, the lake was officially complete at 429 feet above sea level. Candlewood Lake is 16 miles long, 3.2 miles wide with an average depth of 35 feet, and covers a surface area of 8.4 square miles or 5,400 acres.
Today, Candlewood Lake is considered one of the best bass fishing lakes in the country for smallmouth and largemouth bass. Candlewood is consistently ranked in the top 25 best lakes for bass fishing by Bassmaster Magazine year after year. Candlewood is also ranked in the top 10 lakes in the country where you can catch a largemouth and smallmouth bass over 5 lbs in the same day! Candlewood is surrounded by five towns, New Fairfield, Sherman, New Milford, Brookfield and Danbury. Candlewood Lake is easily accessible being only 70 miles north of NYC.
