Lake Zoar is a reservoir in Connecticut, near Western Connecticut County.
Stocking records show that the following fish or strains were stocked here. A historical stocking does not by itself prove that a self-sustaining population remains today.
Lake Zoar covers 909 acres in the Western Connecticut region. The verified maximum depth at Lake Zoar is 75 feet.
Lake Zoar is the middle Housatonic River impoundment and a strong mixed fishery for walleye, bass, pike, crappie, perch and stocked trout. Its current, depth and water color can change faster than those of a closed natural lake.
At 909 acres and 75 feet deep, Zoar combines an old river channel with tributary mouths, steep banks, points and quieter pockets. Current often decides whether fish sit on the upstream face of structure or slide behind it.
Connecticut DEEP singles out Zoar for its walleye opportunity and stocked the lake with juvenile walleye again in 2025. The Housatonic system also supports both largemouth and smallmouth bass throughout its impoundments.
Fish reported from Lake Zoar include alewife, american eel, banded killifish, black crappie, bluegill, bowfin, brook silverside, brown bullhead, chain pickerel, channel catfish, common carp, common shiner, cutlip minnow, eastern creek chubsucker, fallfish, golden shiner, grass carp, green sunfish, largemouth bass, longear sunfish, northern pike, redbreast sunfish, rock bass, smallmouth bass, spottail shiner, tessellated darter, walleye, white catfish, white perch, white sucker, yellow bullhead, and yellow perch. Brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout are listed separately as stocked in Lake Zoar. The stocking entry is a management record for Lake Zoar, not a promise that those fish will be present at every spot or on every trip.
For Lake Zoar largemouth, use a shallow crankbait or swim jig to locate fish, then slow down with a jig or soft plastic. Use a tube, Ned rig or small swimbait for Lake Zoar smallmouth where firm bottom meets deeper water.
Crappie at Lake Zoar respond to a small jig or live minnow beside brush and suspended cover. Use a tiny jig or natural bait under a float when fishing Lake Zoar for bluegill and related sunfish. A small minnow or worm on a light rig fits yellow perch fishing at Lake Zoar.
Walleye at Lake Zoar can be approached with a jig and minnow, paddletail or trolled crankbait along a point or channel edge. Pike fishing on Lake Zoar is best suited to weed edges, a wire leader and a moving lure that covers water. For Lake Zoar pickerel, cover weed edges with a flashy moving lure and use a short leader when bite-offs become common.
Channel catfish in Lake Zoar take cut bait, nightcrawlers and prepared bait on a slip-sinker rig. Bullheads at Lake Zoar will take worms and small pieces of cut bait presented close to soft bottom. Common carp in Lake Zoar can be targeted with corn or dough bait on a simple bottom rig.
For rainbow trout, brown trout, and brook trout in Lake Zoar, use a small spoon, inline spinner, trout magnet or natural bait on light line. Stocked trout may begin near release areas before spreading toward cooler or deeper water in Lake Zoar.
Lake Zoar is deep enough for fish to separate by temperature and forage. At Lake Zoar in the Western Connecticut region, use sonar or contours to identify the working band instead of treating the deepest basin as the automatic target. At Lake Zoar in the Western Connecticut region, before moving, change lure depth once so depth and location are not abandoned together.
A sunny spring afternoon can pull Lake Zoar fish toward dark bottom, wood and new vegetation. Summer fish in Lake Zoar may feed shallow at dawn before settling beside cover or deeper structure. Cooling water can bring Lake Zoar fish back to points and banks where bait gathers.
For walleye, jig the channel edge and current breaks or pull a crankbait at low light. Drag a tube across rock for smallmouth and work protected cover for largemouth. After strong flow, favor the clean edge of a tributary plume rather than its muddy center.
A medium spinning rod with 8- to 10-pound line handles jigs, small crankbaits and live-bait rigs on Lake Zoar. Add stout tackle, leader material, long pliers and a large net for pike-family fish at Lake Zoar.
Current shifts forage and changes which side of a point, channel turn or tributary mouth offers the easiest feeding position.
Zoar is specifically managed and recognized for walleye.
Compare a tributary color seam with the nearest old-channel bend and fish the cleaner, slower edge.
Explore nearby waters, including local Featured destinations. Check each page for access and fishing restrictions.
Distances are straight-line estimates between mapped water locations.
Source dates describe the evidence, not a live catch forecast. Check the managing authority before planning access or keeping fish.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.
The linked source supports this fish’s presence or stocking in this water.
Source checked:
This is not a record catch or a measure of how many fish are there today. The source may describe an earlier period.