2024 Fishing Licenses are Available Online | | |
|
Fishing Fuels Conservation!
100% of your investment funds fish and fishing
| |
Latest Updates from the Fisheries Division
To advance the conservation, enhancement, restoration, use, and appreciation of Connecticut’s fish, fisheries and fish habitats.
| |
The CT Fisheries Division has partnered with FishBrain, the world's largest fishing APP to provide CT's fishing regulations right to your smart device. These regulations are available in the FREE version of the APP. As with any APP if you would like to have access to premium features there is a subscription fee. | |
|
|
National Hunting and Fishing Appreciation Day
September 28, 2024
| |
|
The CT DEEP invites you to come celebrate National Hunting and Fishing Day on Saturday, September 28, 2024, with a fun-filled daylong event at Black Rock State Park, 2065 Thomaston Road, Watertown from 10 am to 3 pm.
Planned activities at the DEEP Black Rock State Park event will include fishing (equipment and bait available for use during the event), stocking of trout into Black Rock Pond, displays from the Wildlife Division and the Boating Division, demonstrations of electrofishing by the Fisheries Division, aquatic macroinvertebrate exploration with DEEP’s Water Quality Monitoring Program, fly tying, fly fishing casting lessons, tours of the new DEEP Western District Headquarter building, and much more.
| |
|
Enacted by Congress in 1971, the federally-recognized day brings together sportsmen and women from across America to celebrate the rich tradition of how hunting, target shooting and fishing have been a mechanism for conservation, through the passage of Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, the Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp Act of 1934, the Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, and the Sport Fish Restoration Act of 1950 (currently known as the Pittman-Robertson Act and Dingell-Johnson Act).
Since 1937, through self-imposed excise taxes on hunting, shooting, archery and angling equipment, and a tax on boating fuels, hunters, recreational shooters and anglers have generated approximately $25.5 billion for wildlife and habitat conservation.
These Wildlife Restoration and Sport Fish Restoration revenues, raised through the Pittman-Robertson Act and Dingell-Johnson Act, are managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Conservation Investment. In 2024, 1.5 billion dollars was distributed to states and territories through the program, with Connecticut’s DEEP receiving approximately 10.8 million dollars to use for purchasing public land, improving essential habitat and creating additional outdoor recreation opportunities that also benefit hikers and bikers, wildlife and wildlife watchers, canoeists, and campers. States and territories also use these funds to support hunter education and development, and the construction and operations of target ranges.
We hope to celebrate the many fish and wildlife successes with you on Saturday, September 28, 2024, at Black Rock State Park.
| |
|
DEEP Ferry Landing Fishing Pier in Old Lyme
Closing 8 am to 1 pm on September 5
| |
|
The date for the groundbreaking ceremony for the AMTRAK CT River Bridge replacement project will be September 5th at 11 AM. The fishing pier will be closed on that day from 8 AM to 1 PM.
The fishing pier will remain open to the public until late February or early March of 2025. It will then be closed, removed, and replaced with a new improved pier by sometime in 2029.
| |
Farmington River Stocked for Labor Day Weekend | |
Survivor Broodstock Collection | |
The annual fall collection of spawn ready fish (broodstock) from the Farmington River is scheduled to happen on September 4-5-6, 2024. For nearly three decades the Fisheries Division has been seeking "Survivor Brown Trout" in order to boost the number of wild browns in the river. Check out the video below and read this Connecticut Wildlife article in for more info. | |
Get Salty this September! | |
|
September is prime time and perfect weather to get salty and head to Long Island Sound and enjoy the abundance of fishing opportunities! Utilize the DEEP Saltwater Fishing Resource Interactive Map to find shoreline fishing and crabbing access points, enhanced shore fishing sites, bait and tackle shops, and party/charter fishing boats. Lot’s of tips on gear and baits can be found in our Saltwater Pier Fishing video. September offers great fishing for a variety of fish species in Long Island Sound, including:
SNAPPER BLUES: found along the entire Connecticut coast and it’s tidal streams/rivers in September. A “snapper popper” or small metal spoon casted and retrieved will do the trick. Great eating, daily limit is 3 per person.
|  | BLUE CRABS: found in tidal streams/river, blue crabbing is family fun and they are absolutely delicious. Skin on chicken or a chunk of fish tied on a string and a long handled net is all the gear you need. No daily limit but blue crabs must measure a minimum shell width from spike tip to spike tip of 5 inches when hardshell and 3.5 inches when softshell. | BONITO & LITTLE TUNNY (FALSE ALBACORE): these “hardtail” “speedster” fish will be making their annual visit into Long Island Sound any day now. Prized for their fighting ability and beauty, the bonito and false albacore are coveted by many anglers. Shoreline of eastern CT offers the best chance to find these fish busting baits on the surface – there are many State Parks that offer great shoreline fishing access. Metal lures that can cast distances and soft plastics when fish are close reeled quickly along surface do the trick. No regulations for these fish. | PORGY (SCUP): found along the entire coast and are an abundant, great fighting, and delicious eating – you gotta love the porgy! Squid, clams, sandworms on a bottom fishing rig is all you need. Filleted or gutted/scaled and cooked whole, the porgy is a delicious and versatile fish for the table! Porgy must be 9.5 inches from shore and 11 inches from boat, with a daily limit of 30 fish per person. | |
CARE to Teach Fishing? We do!
We Need You!
| |
|
The Fisheries Division – Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education Program (CARE) is seeking volunteers to join our team of certified Fishing Coaches! FISH with CARE program hosts classes and events all over the state where we teach basic fishing skills to adults, families, and youth. FISH with CARE coaches work with Fisheries staff to educate and engage the public in the outdoors through the sport of fishing. If you are interested in sharing your love and knowledge of fishing while creating the next generation of environmental stewards, consider joining our Fishing Coach team! Our next certification training will be offered in spring of 2024, information to get involved can be found HERE!
| |
|
Fishing Buddy Bulletin Board:
Announcements and More from the Angling Community
to Feed Your Passion
| |
If you have classes, events, or meetings you would like us to share as a "Fishing Buddy" please email information to mike.beauchene@ct.gov. | |
Fishing Challenge - For YOUth | |
The Youth Fishing Passport Fishing Challenge is a year long fishing scavenger hunt. To have your catch count, simply snap a photo of your fish (from our scorecard) and use our online submission form. The top four anglers (who catch the most different types on our list) receive a prize pack full of fishing swag.
| |
CT's FREE Youth Fishing Passport is your child's ticket to all of the amazing outdoor discoveries fishing has to offer. Fishing involves knowing about habitat, environmental quality, food webs, life history of species, and so much more. You can get a Youth Fishing Passport, for those 15 or younger, using our online licensing system. Register your child as a new user. If you have questions please contact us.
| |
|
How to get the Youth Fishing Passport | |
This Month's Mystery Fish | |
 | |
Last month's mystery fish was the Smooth Dogfish (Mustelus canis). This fish is also know by many names including Atlantic smooth dogfish, dogfish, dusky smooth-hound, grayfish, nurse shark, smooth dog, smoothhound, smooth hound. Dogfish lack the sharp menacing teeth of fellow sharks, but instead have strong jaws used for crushing crustaceans and mollusks which it feed upon. Dogfish are often a pest for anglers who are bottom fishing for Summer Flounder or Fluke as they eagerly will take a variety of bait.
Maximum total length for the smooth dogfish has been documented as 59 inches TL (150 cm) with a maximum weight of 27 pounds (12.2 kg). Smooth dogfish reach maximum size at seven to eight years of age. Average size of this shark is approximately 48 inches TL (122 cm). Longevity data indicates females live to 16 years of age and males have a life span of 10 years. This species grows quickly, with males reaching maturity at two to three years of age (27-37 inches TL (68-93 cm)) and females at four to five years of age (28-51 inches TL (70-130 cm)). (From https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/mustelus-canis/)
| |
How to get your License Online | |
Past Editions of CT Fishin' Tips | |
If you happened to miss one a month or two, feel free to get caught up! | |
Información disponible en español
| |
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are seeking a communication aid or service, have limited proficiency in English, wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint, or require some other accommodation, including equipment to facilitate virtual participation, please contact the DEEP Office of Diversity and Equity at 860-418-5910 or by email at deep.accommodations@ct.gov. Any person needing an accommodation for hearing impairment may call the State of Connecticut relay number - 711. In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation, please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing, meeting, program or event.
| |
This program receives Federal financial assistance from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, sex, or disability.
If you believe that you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility, or if you need more information, please write to:
Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Civil Rights
U.S. Department of the Interior 1849 C Street, NW
Washington, D.C. 20240
| | | | |
