Mashapaug Lake is a lake surrounded by

Bigelow Hollow State Park Bigelow Hollow State Park is public recreation area in the town of Union, Connecticut, in the Quinebaug Highlands. The state park's border Nipmuck State Forest on the east and west and Mashapaug Lake on the north. The park and forest are loc ...

and Nipmuck State Forest in the town of

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in northeastern Connecticut. The lake has a maximum depth of , and an average depth of . Its normal surface elevation is 706 feet. The lake is very popular with fishermen and boaters from the area, and can also be used for swimming.

History

Mashapaug Lake is natural in origin, but the construction of two dams has raised its water level. One of these dams lies on the lake's northern end, at an outlet which flows into the Quinnebaug River system, while the other lies on the southern end, at the Bigelow Brook outlet. Water flows over the Bigelow Brook dam at the southern end of Mashapaug Lake at all times of the year. The dam at the northern end of the lake, however, is only used to drain the lake's water level during the winter.

Description

The majority of Mashapaug Lake's bottom consists of gravel and sand, with some scattered boulders, trees, and stumps. In the deep, flat areas of the lake's bottom, fine sand, silt, and organic muck can be found. Mashapaug Lake is fed by Wells Brook and several intermittent streams. It drains south into Bigelow Brook, but when the water level is lowered for the winter, water is pumped north into the Quinnebaug River system.

Development

Sparse residential housing can be found along the shores of Mashapaug Lake, and also on two of the islands. The northern and northwestern shores of the lake, however, are more densely populated than the rest of the lake. Where there are no houses, the lake's shoreline is heavily forested, with the

surrounding the southern and southwestern areas of the lake.

Recreation

Mashapaug Lake is open to the public for fishing and boating.

Ice fishing Ice fishing is the practice of catching fish with lines and fish hooks or spears through an opening in the ice on a frozen body of water. Ice fishers may fish in the open or in heated enclosures, some with bunks and amenities. Shelters Longe ...

on the lake is popular during the winter months. People can also swim in the lake. Visitors can access the Mashapaug Lake through

at its southern end. A boat launch can be found at this access point.

Flora and fauna

Aquatic vegetation is quite sparse in most areas of Mashapaug Lake, except in certain areas of shallow water; although recently, infrequent lowering of the lake during the wintertime has increased shoreline aquatic vegetation. Some plants that can be found in the shallows are yellow pond-lily (Nuphar variegata),

pickerel weed ''Pontederia'' is a genus of tristylous aquatic plants, members of which are commonly known as pickerel weeds. ''Pontederia'' is endemic to the Americas, distributed from Canada to Argentina, where it is found in shallow water or on mud. The gen ...

(Pontederia cordata), and pondweeds (Potamogeton spp.). Many species of fish reside within Mashapaug Lake. These species include sunfish,

yellow perch The yellow perch (''Perca flavescens''), commonly referred to as perch, striped perch, American perch, American river perch or preacher is a freshwater perciform fish native to much of North America. The yellow perch was described in 1814 by Sam ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy Fren ...

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

, smallmouth bass, brown trout, rainbow trout, and channel catfish. The

Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) is a state agency in the US state of Connecticut. The department oversees the state's natural resources and environment and regulates public utilities and energy policy. It ...

stocks the lake with brown and rainbow trout. Two state records were set from fish caught at Mashapaug Lake. The heaviest largemouth bass ever caught in Connecticut was caught in Mashapaug Lake in 1961 (12 lbs. 14 oz.), and the heaviest channel catfish ever caught in the state was caught there in 2004 (29 lbs. 39 oz.).http://www.landbigfish.com/fishingspots/showcase.cfm?ID=1046

References

External links

CT Bigelow Hollow State Park Web Site
{{authority control Protected areas of Tolland County, Connecticut Lakes of Tolland County, Connecticut Union, Connecticut Reservoirs in Connecticut Nipmuck State Forest