About the Housatonic River

“There is no tonic like the Housatonic” – Oliver Wendell Holmes is supposed to have said.

Enough has been written about the Litchfield County section’s trout and smallmouth bass fishery, and plenty can be found online. A good starting point is the Housatonic Fly Fishermen’s Association website, http://hffa.net.

As to the lower Housatonic, which this page concerns itself with, a good starting point may be the Housatonic Estuary Guide pocket map which the  Housatonic Valley Association (which the chapter supports) and the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have jointly issued. Information about tides can be found at www.tides.info.

Here is a brief guide to the local Housatonic, which will yield a surprising variety of fish, from trout to smallmouth bass, Atlantic salmon to shad, bluefish to striped bass:

• Please take a close look at the fishing map on the left. Zoom in, and click on the place-marks for in-depth information.
• If fishing near or below the Stevenson Dam, please be extremely careful as the water can rise suddenly and your life could be in danger (an instantly inflatable personal flotation device is recommended). Do contact Connecticut Light & Power’s information number (1-888-417-4837) to find out if, and at what time, water releases are planned, and pick a spot on a rock to observe unusual water depth changes.
• The Housatonic’s lower estuary is a red-hot spot for anglers. Full waders and long-casting spinning rods or 9-10 weight (or two-handed) fly rods are a necessity. Fishing seems to be best in the evening on an outgoing tide (click to view tide chart); the action is particularly good in April and May; later on bluefish replace striped bass as the main gamefish (Boga-Grips or similar products are recommended to avoid injury to yourself and to the fish). If you have a boat, you will be able to catch plenty of fish even if you are not able to cast great distances or sinking lines. See map at left for DEEP boat ramps. Otherwise, here are some very nice access points:
  • Sullivan’s Island, Derby
    A nice spot where the Naugatuck River meets the Housatonic. It’s particularly productive in late winter and early spring. This open space is accessible from Main Street.
  • CT Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point
    Here are many parking spaces, but during peak fishing season it can occasionally be a challenge to find a spot. The parking lot is open “only” dawn to dusk; hardcore anglers are encouraged to join the Connecticut Audubon Society, an important conservation and education non-profit founded in 1898, to obtain a gate key.
  • Short Beach Park, Stratford
    Another favorite location of anglers who pursue the mighty striped bass in spring and fall and the fierce bluefish in summer. There is almost unlimited parking, but non-residents are charged a small fee and the gate closes at 9 pm.
• Articles that may be of interest:
  • Best Shore Fishing Locations on the Tidal Housatonic River – by Leon Sylvester for CBS Connecticut (click here).
  • No better Fishery than Housatonic River – by Charles Walsh for The Connecticut Post (click here).