August 2022
2022 Fishing Licenses are Available Online
Fishing Fuels Conservation!
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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.
Free Fishing License Day - Saturday August 6, 2022 anyone can get a FREE 1-day fishing license for use in freshwater and saltwater. Simply visit our online system 24/7 to get your free 1-day license valid on August 6. All other regulations remain in effect.
Announcing the draft plan to restore diadromous (migratory) fishes to the Naugatuck River view the plan HERE. More details are provided below.
Bass Action Plan Webinar is online: If you were not able to tune into the webinar for the draft Bass Action Plan, a recording is now available on the DEEP YouTube channel.
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. Take the course and then come join us at one of our dozens of fishing events this summer.
Summer in CT can be challenging for water levels in rivers and streams. Currently many rivers and streams are well below typical levels for the end of July. Stay up to date with stream flow conditions by checking out the USGS stream flow webpage.
Saltwater Fishing Day 2022
Come Fish With CARE
The DEEP Fisheries Division's – Connecticut Aquatic Resources Education (CARE) program is offering THREE opportunities per week all summer for you to learn to fish and/or fine tune your skills with our expert staff and volunteer fishing instructors!

The CARE programs Mobile Fishing Tour (MFT) registration is open with both fresh and saltwater fishing events scheduled around the state for August! The CARE program supplies all bait, tackle, and instruction. Pre-registration is strongly encouraged at the DEEP Hunting and Fishing Education registration system (Filter by Event Type “FISHING FIELD TRIP”) .

Prepare yourself for a successful year and learn all the basics of fishing in the CARE program’s self-paced Let’s Go Fishing / Vamos de Pescar online course!
The Plan to Restore Diadromous Fishes to the Naugatuck River Watershed
The Naugatuck River is the largest tributary of the Housatonic River with a watershed encompassing 311 square miles. In order to provide a framework for restoring runs of selected diadromous fishes to the basin, the CT DEEP Fisheries Division has drafted the Plan to Restore Diadromous Fishes to the Naugatuck River Watershed. 

Diadromous fish species (migrate from Long Island Sound into freshwater to spawn), including Alewife, Blueback Herring, American Shad, American Eel, and Sea Lamprey, were once common and seasonally abundant in the watershed. Spawning runs of these migratory species were extirpated from the upper mainstem and virtually all tributaries by the mid-1800s due to the construction of dams and industrial pollution. With the backing of many state and federal agencies and the hard work and dedication of a multitude of partners throughout the watershed over the last 50 years, the Naugatuck River is better positioned now than it has been in centuries to stage a return of large annual runs of native diadromous fish. Success in diadromous fish restoration has been achieved in a number of river basins in Connecticut and elsewhere.
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 - Bass Action Plan Webinar
For such a small state, Connecticut has outstanding natural resources and our black bass populations play a vital role ecologically, recreationally, and economically. With responsible conservation management plans and an engaged citizenry, we can ensure Connecticut’s bass fisheries remain viable for many years into the future. Public input and innovative thinking will continually enhance our ability to reach our management goals and adapt to new technological, environmental, political, and social challenges. Meeting these challenges will require changes for both the Fisheries Division and our constituents. While change is always difficult, it is also inevitable as our fisheries and the people targeting them continue to evolve. We believe that continued collaboration between the Fisheries Division and the anglers of Connecticut will be crucial in realizing our shared goal – improved bass fishing opportunities for everyone in the years to come.

The video below is a recording of the webinar held on July 12, 2022 covering the Draft Bass Action Plan (in case you missed it).
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 Trout. Tiger trout are a hybrid between a male brook trout and a female brown trout. In the wild, tiger trout are likely to be produced when there are large numbers of brook trout and brown trout residing in the same stream and spawning in the same location. Connecticut's state trout hatcheries also produce about 5,000 tiger trout annually for stocking.
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