October 2021
2021 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.
Circle Hooks Required for Striped Bass. Effective December 1, 2020 it is mandatory to use inline circle hooks whenever fishing with bait (live, dead, or cut) for Striped Bass. Please view our web page for the latest information and details.
Fall Trout Stocking - Fall trout stocking is underway. we will be stocking about 54,000 trout in waterbodies near you! We will stock 63 locations this fall including trout parks, trout management areas, community fishing waters, trout management lakes, and other popular waters as well as Atlantic Salmon management areas. Follow us here, view our stocking report, or check our interactive trout stocking map for stocking updates.

The following is our fall allocation:
20,000 Rainbow trout (10-12 inches)
10,000 Rainbow trout (> 12 inches)
10,000 Tiger trout (10-12 inches)
500 Tiger trout (> 12 inches)
1,000 Brook Trout (> 14 inches)
6,000 >12” Seeforellen brown trout
4,000 >12” Survivor brown trout
2,500 > 12” Cortland brown trout
1,200 2+ (about 14-18") Atlantic salmon
260 3+ (about 22-24") Atlantic salmon
Tips for Fall TMA Trout Fishing
Atlantic Salmon Management Areas in CT
The Fisheries Division is pleased to have an Atlantic Salmon Management Program where fish specifically raised at our Kensington State Fish Hatchery are stocked in to the Naugatuck River and Shetucket River (as well as a couple of lakes) each fall. The rules and regulations are complex and are intended to maximize the number of people able to enjoy this unique resource. Gear is limited to an artificial lure or fly that has a single free swinging hook, no additional weight may be added to the line. Check the Fishing Guide for dates for catch and release and harvest.
October Fishing Events - Come Join Us!
'Tog Time
Opening day of the fall Tautog (Blackfish) season is October 10, 2021. This fish is a perennial fall favorite of many anglers. Tog love to chomp on crabs (hermit, green, or Asian shore). Each angler is allowed 3 fish per day provided they are at least 16 inches in length. Get more info on the 'tog here.

'Tog are known for being bulldog fighters and prized for their delicious white firm fillets! Tog are great baked, blackened, fried, and anyway you cook them - but the firm flesh makes amazing fish chowder and the carcass can be used to make a beautiful fish stock for the chowder base. If you are lucky enough to harvest one this year, try making a Tog fish stock chowder... you won't regret it!
NEW Online Angler Recognition System
HOT OFF THE PRESS! The Fisheries Division is pleased to announce a brand new way to submit your great catches to us. Now online (versus paper copy) you can fill out information and submit a photo wherever you have service, even right in the field. The system is designed to support applications for: Trophy Fish, State Records, Youth Fishing Passport Fishing Challenge, "First Fish", and "Personal Best". The system also has an interactive "Dashboard" to show some key statistics as well as fish catch locations.

We will be populating the new system with all applications that were submitted prior to September 1, 2021. If you have any questions, please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov.
Learn to Fish CT - Online Course
Check out and share our brand new "Learn to Fish" interactive online class. This class follows our popular "Learn to Fish Workbook" giving you information on all of the important aspects of fishing. Take the class at your pace and when completed you will get a custom certificate.

Once done with the class, feel free to join us at one of our Special Fishing Event field trips to test your new found skill. Details below!
Video of the Month
The CT DEEP Fisheries Division surveyed nearly 1,000 sections of stream over 30 years ago (Stream Survey Project). Today, biologists are returning to a random subset of these locations to see how or if the wild Brook Trout populations have changed. Learn more in our summary report.
Watch this video and hundreds of others by subscribing to the DEEP YouTube channel.
Fish Biologist Job Opportunity
Job Opportunity: The Bureau of Natural Resources, Fisheries Division, is pleased to invite qualified, highly motivated, and enthusiastic people to apply for the opportunity to join our team as an Environmental Protection Fisheries Biologist 1 within our Coldwater Fisheries Program.

This is a full time, 35 hours per week position offered on a first-shift schedule with various hours. This employee will be based in Marlborough, CT with occasional out-of-state and overnight travel duties. Applications close 10/6/2021

Learn more about the job including the minimum qualifications.

In this role, the Fisheries Biologist 1 will be responsible for:

Assisting with and implementing many duties related to the monitoring and assessment of resident fish communities; Stocking of trout and salmon to support recreational fishing;
Evaluating and maintaining angler access for fishing and; Conservation and preservation of wild trout populations.
Circle Hooks Mandatory - Striped Bass
"We're trying to help conserve a stock of fish that is in an overfished condition and needs help. By using inline circle hooks, people are pitching in to that effort."- Justin Davis, Assistant Director, Marine Fisheries Program

This regulation was mandated by Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and is being adopted by all Atlantic coast states. View the regulation change.

For more info visit our web page, view our fact sheet, or watch the video below.
This Month's Mystery Fish
This fish was caught in the Thames River, New London during a CARE Special Fishing Event this past August. If you have a guess as to the type of fish pictured below, email Mike.beauchene@ct.gov
Fishing Challenge - For YOUth
NEW- Enter your catches online
Please use our online form to enter your youth fishing challenge catches
Youth Fishing Passport
Fishing is the perfect family activity during this time of "distance learning" and being "socially distant". 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.
Fishing Challenge Scorecard
The Youth Fishing Passport Fishing Challenge is a year long fishing scavenger hunt. To have your catch count, simple snap a photo of your fish (from our scorecard) and email it to us. The top four anglers (who catch the most different types on our list) receive a prize pack full of fishing swag.
Fishing Guide - Access Online Anytime
The 2021 Fishing Guide is available in English and Spanish.
Mystery Fish Revealed

Last month's mystery fish was a photo sent to DEEP with an application for a new state record white catfish. Due to questions raised both internally at DEEP and by outside sources, DEEP is recalling its initial declaration of a new state record white catfish caught in Coventry Lake in August.

Without the ability to examine the actual fish, identification is left to still images and videos, which have proven to be ambiguous and inconclusive to definitively identify the species of catfish in this case. So this fish remains a mystery.

To maintain the integrity of the state record dataset, we are reversing the initial announcement that this 21.3 pound fish was the new state record White Catfish. We apologize for the premature announcement. Questions or comments can be directed to Mike.beauchene@ct.gov
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.