Saw this today on the CLA web site. Not sure what it will mean to fishing for bass and other gamefish in Candlewood in the long run.

CANDLEWOOD LAKE AUTHORITY AWARDED CT DEEP GRANT

“Grant application for sterile grass carp to combat annual milfoil growth in Candlewood is approved.”

The Candlewood Lake Authority is very pleased to announce that their $50,000 grant application for the stocking of Candlewood Lake with sterile triploid grass carp has been approved in full by the CT Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. This marks the first step in a new lake wide initiative to combat milfoil growth using the sterile grass carp to integrate with the work already being done by the winter draw downs and other localized efforts.

The CLA’s proposed project includes the planned stocking of triploid grass carp in 2015, monitoring of the water quality and Eurasian watermilfoil coverage in 2015 & 2016 and determining changes to either over the two year period. The project also includes starting a fund for supplemental stocking of grass carp in the future.

While the CLA was awarded $50,000 from the CT DEEP to offset the costs of the initial carp stocking, the grant also requires a 50% match, raising the total value of the project to over $100,000. The Towns of Brookfield, New Fairfield, New Milford and Sherman, as well as the City of Danbury have agreed toward contributing to the match. In addition the CLA will contribute to the match through water monitoring efforts. The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station’s annual weed mapping, funded by FirstLight Power Resources, will also be used toward raising the funds to meet the 50% match.

The grant allows recipients one year, from the date a contract is signed with the CT DEEP, to utilize their grant funding. The plan is to have sterile grass carp stocked in Candlewood Lake in 2015. Receiving the grant was the first step. The CLA and others have already been working with the State of CT to revise an older regulation regarding the stocking of sterile triploid grass carp that would otherwise be a barrier to the successful implementation of a stocking program here. Once the regulation is changed and the contract is signed with the CT DEEP, the CLA will then be able apply to the CT DEEP for a permit to stock the carp, the approval of which would then allow the CLA to order the fish, with a goal of stocking in Candlewood Lake in 2015.

The CLA is planning to keep residents and citizens updated on the progress and developments of this exciting project, both through electronic communications like this, as well as through planned public meetings and in the newspapers.

I did some more searching about these grass carp and found this. Notice one of the lesser preferred weeds that they eat is milfoil. They also don't like to feed around swimming areas, and can promote algae blooms in some cases.

Grass carp:
Are only distantly related to the undesirable European carp, and share few of its habits.
Live for at least ten years and probably much longer in Washington waters.
Will grow rapidly and reach at least ten pounds. They have been known to reach 40 pounds in the southern United States.
Feed only on plants at the age they are stocked into Washington waters.
Will not eat fish eggs, young fish or invertebrates, although baby grass carp are omnivorous.
Feed from the top of the plant down so that mud is not stirred up. However, in ponds and lakes where grass carp have eliminated all submersed vegetation the water becomes turbid. Hungry fish will eat the organic material out of the sediments.
Have definite taste preferences. Plants like Eurasian milfoil and coontail are not preferred. American waterweed and thin leaved pondweeds are preferred. Water lilies are rarely consumed in Washington waters.
Are dormant during the winter. Intensive feeding starts when water temperatures reach 68o F.
Are a river fish and have the desire to move from still waters into flowing waters.
Are difficult to recapture if a waterbody has been overstocked.
They may not feed in swimming areas, docks, boating areas, or other sites where there is heavy human activity.

Advantages
Grass carp are inexpensive compared to some other control methods and offer long-term control, but fish need to be restocked at intervals.
Grass carp offer a biological alternative to aquatic plant control.

Disadvantages
Depending on plant densities and types, it may take several years to achieve plant control using grass carp and in many cases control may not occur or all submersed plants may be eliminated.
The type of plants grass carp prefer may also be those most important for habitat and for waterfowl food.
If the waterbody is overstocked, all submersed aquatic plants may be eliminated. Removing excess fish is difficult and expensive.
If not enough fish are stocked, less-favored plants, such as Eurasian milfoil, may take over the lake.
Stocking grass carp may lead to algae blooms.
All inlets and outlets to the lake or pond must be screened to prevent grass carp from escaping into streams, rivers, or other lakes.

It has worked in Ball Pond and enough scientific data has been collected that the Candlewood stocking is now feasible. As there is very little native vegetation left in Candlewood, the grass carp will be forced to eat the milfoil. As long a they are stocked at the right density, it should be a success.

wait, so has it worked in ball pond (weeds are gone) or hasnt it (still too much milfoil) ?!?!?

Bow fishing is illegal on Trout stocked waters so Candlewood is off limits.
As far as the weeds go, these fish eat them from the top down so hopefully like Ball Pond there will still be plenty of weeds for the fish to do their thing and the weeds won't be too far up to the surface to fowl up props and tangle up swimmers etc. A least that's their plan.

You know they are going to do something for weed control so Carp are better than chemicals, they will take much longer though and are actually much cheaper.