The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is wrapping up its fall stocking program for 2018.
Trout have been stocked in major destination rivers such as the Housatonic and Farmington, as well as closer to home in the Saugatuck River.
Surplus broodstock salmon have been stocked in rivers including the Naugatuck, destination for a Nutmeg TU trip with Mianus TU on Nov. 17.
Click here to read the latest update from the DEEP.
On Friday, Nov 17, the Trout in the Classroom programs statewide received their eggs from the DEEP.
TIC coordinators gather at a commuter parking lot, where the DEEP distributes the eggs to each chapter.
The Nutmeg Chapter has 15 schools participating in this valuable educational tool. Hundreds of students throughout Nutmeg’s district are involved in raising Trout Eggs. Nutmeg TU covers the towns of Fairfield, Westport, Weston, Easton, Redding, Trumbull, Monroe, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford and Shelton.
Through hands-on activities, TIC uses an inter-disciplinary approach that adds to the the scientific concepts taught that directly impact the student’s lives and environment. This is an important program that is training the environmental stewards and leaders for the future
“The excitement in each classroom when the eggs arrive is unbelievable, like they were getting pizza delivered,” Nutmeg TU TIC Chairman Dave Edgeworth said.
UPDATE: The Mill River, the Saugatuck River fly fishing area and the Mianus River TMA have all been stocked with trout, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection reported on Nov. 1.
ORIGINAL POST: The Mill River in Fairfield and Saugatuck River in Westport should soon be stocked, according to the Connecticut Department of Fish & Wildlife. Most of the trout stocked will be rainbows, not browns as pictured.
Cooler weather has allowed the fall stocking program to get into full swing, according to the latest weekly fishing report. Click here to read it.
Stay up to date with daily stocking posts on Facebook, the DEEP’s interactive trout stocking map, and its stocking report.
Connecticut has begun its surplus broodstock Atlantic salmon stocking program for the fall.
To learn how to catch salmon locally, hear Ben Bilello speak at the Nutmeg TU general meeting Tuesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport. Click here for more details.
Trout are also being stocked around the state, according to the Oct. 12 fishing report from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
In its most recent fishing report, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced that temperatures have cooled enough to allow fall trout stocking to being.
Click here to read the latest fishing report.
Stay up to date with daily stocking posts on Facebook, the DEEP’s interactive trout stocking map, and its stocking report.
Join Nutmeg TU for a morning of exciting fishing on one of the best rivers in Connecticut, the Farmington River, on Sunday, June 11, starting at 6 a.m. You may come earlier if you wish, I will be there setting up and getting some quick fishing in.
We will be meeting up in the Church Pool parking lot – look for the Nutmeg TU banner and a silver Subaru Forester.
Open to everyone, beginners and experienced anglers alike, this trip is a great way to learn the river. Spinning or fly fishing, all are welcome. If you are new to the river or fishing, I will show you techniques and strategies that will have you catching trout in no time. If you are more experienced, I will have maps of spots you can fish.
Following fishing, everyone is welcome to join us for a Breakfast Buffet at the Log House Restaurant. BYOB (Buy Your Own Breakfast)
Please RSVP to Davide Edgeworth so we know who to expect. Text or Email (203) 627-5817 or email – Eggsofan@hotmail.com. You can also RSVP by clicking here.
Every angler has seen that trout that’s on the far side of water that’s just too deep to wade, and just out of reach of the longest cast.
Kayaks have brought those trout, usually big ones, into reach for anglers who choose to use them, and members of the Nutmeg Chapter of Trout Unlimited will learn how at their next meeting Tuesday, April 18, at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.
Guest speaker Jesse Roche will teach us how to get started in kayaking and how to use that to reach places we need to get to catch elusive trout.
Roche brings with him eight years of kayaking, as well as a lifetime on the water and outdoors. He comes from a nature -oriented family. From his grandfather, a forrester, and grandmother an Audubon Society member, to his parents, both always outdoors, and father, who worked for years in marine sciences. Instead of Disneyworld, Jesse’s family spent summers in the wilderness of the Minnesota, on boundary waters in an Old Town canoe, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire. He wouldn’t trade it for anything.
After 10 years as a radio personality on 97.7 WCTY FM, he now produces and hosts Fishing Today a weekly radio program on 1310 WICH AM in Norwich as well as a podcast on wich.com.
“It’s basically NPR for fishing,” Roche said. “I try to be information and news-oriented. It’s a lot of fun because both myself and the listener can learn new things about fishing every week.”
Jesse is also involved with the New England Fishery Management Council, serving his first term as a recreational fishing panelist. There he and other representatives from our New England states set up the framework for new fishery regulations.
“I am very conservation oriented. Preserving our fishery means a lot to me,” Roche said. “I look forward to spreading that philosophy as a member of the Black Hall Outfitters Fishing team”
The meeting will also feature a look at opening day weekend and Nutmeg’s Trumbull stream cleanup, and plans for an April 29 planting along the Mill River at the Fairfield-Easton border on Congress Street.
Mike Humphreys, the DEEP Inland Fisheries Biologist for the western district, will speak at the next meeting of Nutmeg TU, set for Tuesday, March 21, at 7 p.m. at Port 5, 69 Brewster St., Bridgeport.
Mike is a longtime fish biologist, holding a master’s degree from the University of Tennessee with more than 30 years in his profession.
His topics will include updates on the Housatonic River, focusing on trout in the Cornwall TMA, and an assessment on wild trout in Connecticut streams, as well as the latest information about the effects of the recent drought on fish in the state.
In past 25 years with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, his work has focused on Statewide Stream Electrofishing Surveys, a Statewide Wild Trout Research and Management Project, and Housatonic River Research and Management.
During previous, well attended visits, Humphreys spoke to Nutmeg TU about his findings on trout survival with run of river in the Housatonic TMAs, various fish stocking programs, and regulation changes for some sections of the Mill River.
The trout season has officially ended except for the designated TMAs. Opening day has been switched to the 2nd Saturday in April this year so mark your calendars. A few of the open areas on the Farmington have been producing some beautiful browns for those fishing nymphs in these very cold temperatures however most of the state’s streams remain icy or slushy.
The Kensington Hatchery is up on the block for the third time so write letters immediately. The comment period is nearly over. The Kensington Hatchery produces all of the eggs used in SIC and TIC and is the only hatchery in the state capable of raising Seeforellen brown trout and Atlantic salmon. The loss would be a travesty for Connecticut’s fisheries and would also set precedent for more cuts to the state fisheries rather than increasing monies allocated to DEEP.
While you are writing, you might consider writing the Connecticut Siting Council in opposition of an enormous power plant that is proposed very close to the Oxford Airport. This plant will save the average Connecticut customer within a 10 mile radius of the plant approximately $35 annually as most of the power will be sold to residents in R.I. and Mass. The cost of this plant will be six trout streams, the lower estuary of the Housatonic and Long Island Sound.
The proposed Towantic Power Plant will draw more than a million gallons of water annually from the Pomperaug River which is formed by the Nonewaug and Weekeepeemee Rivers as well as Sprain Brook. Currently, these streams run very low during summer months. The plant will be built right near the headwaters of the Little River which is right on the fringes of over development as it sits. All four of those streams contain wild and holdover trout. The grey water or outflow from the plant is proposed to release all of this very warm and not very clean water into the Naugatuck River upstream of where a 6.5 million dollar fish bypass was recently completed. The Naugatuck flows into the lower estuary of the Housatonic a relatively short distance downstream. The estuary contains the largest wintering over populations of striped bass in the northeast. This would be a huge step backward for Connecticut as the Naugatuck and Housatonic have come such a long way ecologically.
Remember, there has been nothing invented by humans since the dawn of time that does not break or fail. what will happen when this plant breaks or fails. Would the damage take decades to repair itself or will the damage be permanent?? Either way, this is not good for Connecticut.
– Ron Merly
Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced March 31 that expects to stock almost 390,000 trout in waters across the state in time for opening day of the trout fishing season April 19 despite challenges posed by extended winter conditions this year.
“Stocking nearly four hundred thousand fish prior to opening day is a monumental task in the best weather,” said Pete Aarrestad, director of DEEP’s Inland Fisheries Division. “We’ve had to postpone several days of stocking due to morning temperatures in the single digits, and a number of other scheduled stocking runs were shifted to sites with better winter access.
“However, we still plan to stock all of the usual water bodies that have historically been done for opening day. Hatchery staff have endured and prevailed under prolonged winter conditions unseen in Connecticut in over 50 years. It is a testament to their ‘can do’ attitude and dedication on behalf of recreational anglers.”
More than 200 truckloads of trout are scheduled to be released into 100 lakes and ponds and 194 rivers and streams in time for opening day. The following species & sizes will be stocked prior to opening day:
• 62,600 brook trout (10-11 inch)
• 193,500 brown trout (10-11 inch)
• 6,600 brown trout (12 inch)
• 1,900 tiger trout (10-12 inch brook/brown hybrid)
• 107,300 rainbow trout (10-12 inch)
• 15,900 rainbow trout (12-14 inch)
• 1,335 surplus broodstock (3-10 pound trout – all species)
Trout anglers looking to test out their gear prior to the start of trout season can visit one of the state’s 15 trout management areas (TMAs), all open for pre-season catch-and-release fishing. TMAs are located on the Farmington River, Hammonasset River, Hockanum River, Housatonic River (two TMAs), Mianus River, Mill River (Fairfield), Mill River (Hamden), Moosup River, Pequabuck River (including Coppermine Brook), Naugatuck River, Salmon River, Saugatuck River, Willimantic River and Yantic River.
Typically, DEEP stocks nearly all these areas as soon as they are accessible by the hatchery trucks. This year, however, due to snow cover, frozen snow banks and shoreline ice cover, a number of the TMAs were inaccessible, thus stocking them had to be postponed. “Barring more winter weather, we plan on having most of the Trout Management Areas stocked by the end of next week,” said Aarrestad.
Anglers can access up-to-date information about where and when trout are stocked on Facebook at facebook.com/ctfishandwildlife.
In addition to the TMAs, class I wild trout management areas (WTMA) are also open year-round for catch-and-release fishing, and are located on Deep Brook, Eightmile River, Hawleys Brook, Beaver Brook/Merrick Brook, Macedonia Brook, Mill River (in Easton), Quinnipiac River, Tankerhoosen River, and Wachocastinook (Riga) Brook. Class I WMTA’s are typically not stocked. Additionally, downstream portions of six of the designated sea-run trout streams (Eightmile River, Farm River, Hammonasset River, Latimer Brook, Saugatuck River, and Whitford Brook) are open year-round with a two trout per day creel limit and a fifteen-inch minimum length.
Anglers should consult the Conncticut Angler’s Guide for detailed information on specific locations and angling regulations. Printed versions of the 2014 Angler’s Guide are now available at more than 350 locations statewide, including town halls, bait & tackle shops and other vendors selling outdoor equipment, DEEP facilities, and commercial marinas and campgrounds. The electronic versions of the Guide can be found on the DEEP website at (ct.gov/deep/anglersguide).
Additional fishing and fisheries related information can be found on the DEEP web site at ct.gov/deep/fishing. The web site has a wealth of information including; trout stocking location maps, annual fish stocking summary report, the very popular youth fishing passport program, and when you catch the big one, criteria for trophy fish awards.
Save the last-minute running around and purchase your 2014 fishing licenses directly online, or if you prefer, at one of the many participating town halls, tackle retailers and DEEP offices. For a complete list of vendors, visit the DEEP website (ct.gov/deep/fishing) or call DEEP Licensing and Revenue (860-424-3105).