September 2022

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2022 Fishing Licenses are Available Online
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Latest Updates from the Fisheries Division
To advance the conservation, enhancement, restoration, use, and appreciation of Connecticut’s fish, fisheries and fish habitats.

Would you like to see your catch highlighted in upcoming issues of CT Fishin' Tips? If so, please email your photo to mike.beauchene@ct.gov 

The Farmington River is open for fishing except immediately around where the following tributaries join the river. Learn more here. Get a map here.


  • East Mountain Brook (Hallock Brook), New Hartford
  • Cherry Brook, Canton
  • Rattlesnake Hill Brook, Canton
  • Burlington Brook, Burlington
  • Hawley Brook, Avon
  • Unionville Brook, Farmington
  • Hyde Brook, Farmington
  • Pequabuck River, Farmington
Simple overview of Freshwater Fishing Regulations: This pamphlet is designed to provide a simple overview of regulations for freshwater fish in CT. It also lists waters where there are special regulations which can be found listed alphabetically at these links: Lake and Ponds or for Rivers and Streams

Learn the basics of fishing at your pace: The CT Aquatic Resources Education (CARE) program has a created a web-based Introduction to Fishing course, available in English and Spanish, where you can learn all the basics to prepare for a successful fishing adventure!


Come and join CARE at an upcoming event on our Mobile Fishing Tour (schedule below). We will provide all bait, tackle, and fishing tips! Pre-registration is strongly encouraged (filter by event type "Fishing Field Trip").

Striped Bass on the Feed

September is a great month to connect with a hungry striped bass as they load up on the bountiful baitfish in the sound. Please remember to use a circle hook if using bait to target striped bass (more info further down). These hooks, especially when using bait, are helpful to reduce mortality after being released. Congrats to Colton Johnson for his 48" bass (released).

One Big COBIA 

Congrats to John Bertolasio for his amazing catch of species of fish that is normally found in waters far south from here. This Cobia was 43 pounds and 56 inches!


John told us that he was fishing a dead eel on Long Sand Shoal when he got the hit. He fought the fish for 1.5 hours and once he got the fish to the boat it swam straight down and snapped his pole in half. He thought it was a shark at first when he saw the brown fins.

John did not know what he had caught until he sent the picture of the fish to a friend. Once he found out it was legal (and good eating), he kept it.


Encounters with southern species, like Cobia, are becoming a more and more frequent in Long Island Sound due warming water temperatures associated with a changing climate.


More Record Fish from the Sound

As records are made to be broken, here are three additional state records as of the end of August 2022. To see a list of all saltwater state records check out the page in our digital saltwater fishing guide.


2022 Freshwater records to date will be in next month's Fishin' Tips

Jarred Velardi with a 58.2 pound tilefish caught off shore in the West Atlantis Canyon. (Harvest category).

At 40 inch bluefish caught in "The Race" by Alex Erdmann. (Catch and Release category).

A 36.5 inch Clearnose Skate caught in the Mystic River by Stephen Stella. (Catch and Release category).

Crabbing Is Hot!

Blue claw crabs are common along Connecticut's coast. Good crabbing can be found in many of the tidal rivers and streams with direct connection to Long Island Sound. Crabs can be caught using a scoop net, a trap, or by tossing a chicken leg out on a string. Delicious steamed or boiled, be sure to add CT's blue claw crab to your list of "must do" adventures.


Hard shell crabs must measure at least 5 inches spike to spike, softshell crabs 3.5 inches. No license is required and there is no daily limit. Egg bearing females must be released.

2022 Recreational Marine Fishing Regulations
Changes from 2021 are indicated in Red Font. Please check out our digital marine fishing guide for more information.
Too Hot for Trout
Just a reminder that several important trout refuges are closed to fishing. These areas are found on the Housatonic River, Naugatuck River, and Shetucket River. Do your part to help trout survive the hot summer water temperatures by not disturbing the fish seeking refuge.
Digital Versions of Guide Books for 2022
Being a responsible user of the Connecticut outdoors means staying informed of, and complying with, the current laws and regulations.

Connecticut DEEP's outdoor field guides make it easy to find and follow the laws and regulations that apply to you. And now, Connecticut's Fishing and Hunting Guides are online in an easy-to-use eBook version.

Coming in 2022, NEW digital formats will allow you to quickly check a regulation, confirm legal methods, look up best practices and more – from anywhere at anytime. Stay tuned! Printed hunting and fishing guides will be scaled back and available in limited quantities.

Visit our Online Outdoor Licensing System to purchase licenses, permits, and stamps, and check hunter safety and boating certifications.

View the Digital Freshwater Fishing Guide Here

View the Digital Saltwater Fishing Guide Here
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.
Youth Fishing Passport
Enter your catches online
Please use our online form to enter your youth fishing challenge catches

Video of the Month

Each year, at about this time, the Fisheries Division collects about 150 Brown Trout from the West Branch Farmington River. These fish are taken to the Burlington State Fish Hatchery where staff will spawn them and raise the offspring. Both the captured adults and their progeny are returned to the river to continue to support the Blue Ribbon trout fishing.

This Month's Mystery Fish
If you have a guess as to the type of fish pictured below, email Mike.beauchene@ct.gov
Mystery Fish Revealed

Last month's mystery fish was a Tiger Muskie. The Tiger Muskie is a sterile hybrid resulting from the cross of a Northern Pike (Esox lucius) and a Muskellunge (Esox masquinongy). Although the CT DEEP Fisheries Division does not stock this type of fish, permits have been issued by the Fisheries Division to the Lake Lillinonah Authority to do so. The fish are stocked at a size of 12"-14" and then feed an grow to be this massive size. As these fish are unique to CT, catch and release is encouraged so that the fish can continue to grow and other anglers have the opportunity to catch of a lifetime. Current regulations in Lake Lillinonah are 1 pike OR tiger muskie per day; 38" minimum length.

How to get your License Online
Your E-Tackle Box
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