Sunday, June 21, is Free Fishing License Day in Connecticut.
Anyone can fish for free, after getting the free one-day license via the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection online licensing system. All other rules and regulations apply but enjoy a day of fishing.
Get your free one-day license, valid Sunday, June 21, at https://ct.aspirafocus.com/internetsales/
Trout Unlimited is launching a national effort to make sure everyone is represented in its activities.
If you love fishing or believe in the value and need for protecting rivers, we want you to be a part of the Trout Unlimited community.
Today, our membership and representation aren’t reflective of the racial diversity in the fishing and river-loving communities. An equitable, diverse and inclusive community is important to us, but it is still under construction. Though our work was underway with significant personal and organizational learning and action, the recent events surrounding the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and too many others before them, have re-emphasized how important it is to amplify voices of color in this journey.
The Senate voted Wednesday 73 to 25 to pass the Great American Outdoors Act, a bill that permanently and fully funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund and provides money for the growing maintenance backlog on public lands.
Up next is the House of Representatives version of the bill, H.R. 7092, which was introduced by Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) on June 4 with strong bipartisan support. The legislation currently has nearly 50 cosponsors from around the country.
Trout Unlimited issued a statement shortly after Senate passage of the bill.
The Land and Water Conservation Fun (LWCF) is our country’s premier program to fund public access, fish and wildlife conservation and outdoor recreation. Public access and habitat conservation are critical to sustain hunting and fishing in America. LWCF supports these pillars of our sporting heritage and it is imperative that Congress provide full, dedicated funding for this vital program.
The public lands maintenance backlog has been mounting for decades and is now estimated at nearly $20 billion. This issue has created a host of problems that impair trout fisheries, including substandard roads that bleed sediment into streams and defective culverts that block fish migration. It is crucial that the National Park Service, Forest Service, BLM, and Fish and Wildlife Service all receive funding to tackle the growing maintenance backlog.
Trout Unlimited is asking members to contact their representatives in Congress to support the Great American Outdoors Act. Click here for a letter you can easily send.
Trout Unlimited President and CEO Chris Wood issued a statement this week saying the organization will work toward creating an environment of greater equity.
In part, Wood wrote:
Good comes when we listen more, understand more, and judge less — when we seek compassion and ways to help our neighbors. Good comes from building an America that truly protects the rights and freedoms of all its people.
Inequity and violence destroy. When we build community, we create.
Trout Unlimited and its 300,000 members and supporters will play an active role in efforts to build a more inclusive community across the nation. We cannot simply ignore the news, go fishing, and wait this out. Trout Unlimited will be part of the solution by addressing the inequities in our communities, and by building space for all people to participate in our mission of conserving, protecting, and restoring our watersheds.
Six weeks after stripping federal protections from millions of miles of streams and millions of acres of wetlands, the Environmental Protection Agency is further weakening the Clean Water Act by sharply restricting the longstanding authority of local communities to protect their streams and rivers.
Click here to read more from Trout Unlimited on how you can help.
President Donald Trump Friday opened the door to commercial fishing in the only federal ocean Monument in the Atlantic. This precious marine preserve, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, 150 miles off our coast is a haven of pristine waters and diverse wildlife.
The creation of the Monument in 2016 by President Barack Obama was brought about with strong advocacy from the entire Connecticut delegation, led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal. Rivers Alliance and many other environmental groups are asking you to join us in contacting Rep. Jim Himes, Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Sen Chris Murphy, who are key
Inflicting harm on this preserve will not save our fisheries. Quite the opposite. The fisheries of the future depend on deep-sea breeding and nurturing preserves. NE Canyons and Seamount is the only one we have in our region.
Rep. Himes
Bridgeport Office: 203-333-6600 or 866-453-0028
Stamford Office: 203-353-9400
Washington, D.C. Office: 202-225-5541
Rep. DeLauro
New Haven Office: 203-562-3718
Washington, D.C. Office: 202-225-3661
Sen. Murphy
Hartford Office 860-549-8463
Washington, D.C., Office: 202-224-4041
A survey by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection sees a significant drop in the population of wild trout in the state.
Click here to download a PDF of the report.
The May 2020 study reports: “Statewide, we found a decrease in the number of locations (about 33% ) as well as an overall decrease in the number of fish.”
“Connecticut’s landscape and climate has changed over the past three decades. These changes are predicted to continue and most likely have a negative impact on cold water obligate fish species such as
Brook Trout,” according to the report by Brian Eltz and Mike Beauchene of the DEEP.
Pointing out that the Brook Trout is Connecticut’s only native, non-migratory salmonid, they write, “As a species with specific cold water requirements, the future of wild Brook Trout in Connecticut in the context of climate change and increased development is uncertain and potentially in jeopardy.”
The authors recommend drawing a new list of randomly selected sites every 5 years to compile a series of statewide estimates of wild Brook Trout distribution and population density values.
Starting now, additional work using the universe of locations where wild Brook Trout were not observed is warranted. This work should seek to identify key variables responsible or related to the absence of wild Brook Trout and determine their magnitude of change. Some categories of variables, which may have changed from the initial sampling over 30 years ago include land cover, out of stream diversion of water and stocking of adult domestic trout (brooks, browns, rainbows, and tigers) in the same reach containing wild populations, stocking of Atlantic Salmon and Brown Trout fry, harvest limits, size limits, etc..
The fishing trip to the private Limestone Trout Club scheduled for Wednesday, May 20, has been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Information on the possibility of a new date will be posted as it becomes available.
Lunch is included and please bring your check/cash with you.
The Coronavirus Pandemic has kept anglers from gathering for Trout Unlimited meetings, but national is offering training via the web to keep everyone connected.
Click on the the following to join pcoming sessions:
Thursday, May 14, 8 p.m. — Outreach to Military & First Responder Communities
Tuesday, May 19, 8 p.m. — Innovations Driven by COVID – Tactics & Technology
Thursday, June 4, 8 p.m. — Planning for the Fall: What Activities Work Best