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October 2025
Please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov with any suggestions, comments, or questions related to CT's Fisheries.
Get Your 2025 Fishing License
Don't miss anymore days of fishing - renew or get your fishing license today!
Mandatory PFD Use Starts Today
A friendly reminder to boaters that state law requires anyone operating a canoe, kayak, stand-up paddleboard or other manually-propelled vessel between October 1 and May 31 must wear a personal floatation device (PFD).
Please follow the DEEP Boating Division’s social media accounts for more safety information and boating tips on Facebook (@BoatinginConnecticut), Instagram (@ctdeep_boating) or X (@CTBoatingInfo). To learn more about cold water boating and paddling in Connecticut, visit the DEEP Boating and Paddling website.
Tag You're It - Again! 2025-2026
Each fall, beginning in October, the Fisheries Division stocks roughly 2,000 2-year-old Atlantic Salmon, and about 300 retired broodstock 3-year-old Atlantic Salmon to provide a unique and highly popular recreational fishery.
But once they are stocked, where and how far do they go? How quickly do they get there? How many are caught and how often? To answer these questions, DEEP Fisheries Biologists and salmon anglers teamed up during the 2024-25 fishing season to conduct an angler tag-return study. The concept was simple; mark individuals with unique ID numbers and record information during stocking such as stocking location and date, age and sex of the fish, and habitat characteristics (e.g., water temperature, river levels, and habitat type) for each fish. Then, call on anglers to hit the water and report data about their catch.
Last year, close to 500 tags were reported by more than 150 unique anglers, which resulted in some fascinating discoveries. For example, one salmon (#0008) was caught five times, the majority either moved downstream (49%) or stayed where they were stocked (42%), and the winner for furthest distance traveled went to salmon #0885 who was stocked into the Naugatuck River on October 21st and was caught and reported on May 21st in the Block Island Sound near Point Judith, Rhode Island, 177 kilometers, or 110 miles away!
After last year’s success we are expanding the tagging study to 2025-26 in hopes to learn more, and again, we need your help. Prior to being stocked in rivers, 2,000 salmon will be tagged under the dorsal fin with blue (last year was orange) external T-Bar anchor tags that each have a unique ID #. We ask anglers to report their catches of tagged Atlantic Salmon including the tag number, date, and specific location, using one of three available reporting methods (online survey, phone, email). Please do not remove the tag from the fish. This unique collaboration between the Fisheries Division and the angling public will help to fill critical data gaps and inform management decisions such as the density, timing, frequency, and location of stocking events.
Atlantic Salmon Stocking is Underway!
Connecticut's Fisheries Division is pleased to offer a unique and amazing fishery for Atlantic salmon each fall! Grown specifically at our Kensington State Fish Hatchery for recreational fishing, approximately 2,000 adult Atlantic salmon will be stocked starting last week until mid-December. We have stocked Crystal Lake in Ellington and Mount Tom Pond in Washington with 125 salmon each. The remainder of the salmon will be stocked into our two Atlantic Salmon Management Areas over the next few months.
The regulations for the Atlantic salmon fishery are set by Commissioner's Declaration and did not change from last year. In summary:
Naugatuck and Shetucket Rivers:
September 1 until December 15: Catch and release only. The daily creel limit is zero and all Atlantic Salmon shall be immediately returned, without avoidable injury.
December 16 until August 31, 2026: Daily limit 1 salmon per angler
Gear: A fly or an artificial lure with a single free-swinging hook. No additional weight may be added to the line.
Minimum length: none
Crystal Lake and Mount Tom Pond:
September 1, 2025, through February 28, 2026: inclusive, the daily creel limit for Atlantic Salmon is one.
March 1, 2026, to 6:00 AM on April 11, 2026: inclusive, angling for Atlantic Salmon will be restricted to catch-and-release only. The daily creel limit is zero and all Atlantic Salmon shall be immediately returned, without avoidable injury.
6:00 AM on April 11, 2026, through August 31, 2026: inclusive, the daily creel limit for Atlantic Salmon is one.
Gear: No special gear restriction.
Minimum length: none
Change your treble hook to a single free-swinging hook to make your favorite lure legal for use in Atlantic Salmon Management Areas
Blackfish (Tog) Fall Season Opens October 10
A true New England tradition - heading out to hit the rocky reefs and shoreline with a bucket full of crabs and some heavy duty tackle in search of 'tog. The fall Blackfish (Tautog) season opens on October 10, 2025 until November 28, 2025. Daily limit is 3 fish per angler. Minimum length is 16 inches.
Tog are really fun to try and catch. These fish are experts at robbing your hook of bait as well as extremely tough fighters, but arguably the best tasting fish Long Island Sound has to offer! Check out the video below and enjoy your time chasing 'tog.
Fall Trout Stocking is Underway!
Fall is officially here, and with-it trout stocking is well underway! CT DEEP Fish Hatchery staff and biologists have made final preparations and hatchery trucks are now rolling across the state almost daily. This fall, the Fisheries Division plans to stock over 60,000 trout across 38 lakes/ponds and 37 river/stream sections. Species include Brook, Brown, Rainbow, and Tiger trout. Fall is a fantastic time to get outdoors and track down trout and salmon. So, dust off the gear, patch the waders, fuel up the boat, and get ready for the action. Stay up to date with our Current Stocking Report!
Please remember, Trout Management Area's are CATCH AND RELEASE only from September 1st - second Saturday in April. Check out this video for some tips on increasing survival of fish while catch and release fishing:
The Catfish are Coming, The Catfish are Coming...
Get ready to hit our Community Fishing Waters as the annual delivery of adult-size Channel Catfish are scheduled to arrive later this week. Approximately 400 fish (some larger waterbodies get more) averaging about 1.5 pounds and 14-18 inches will be stocked into each Community Fishing Water. Regulations in our Community Fishing Waters for Channel Catfish are 3 fish per day no minimum length.
Check out some tips and pointers for fishing for Channel Catfish in our Community Fishing Waters.
Fishing Challenge DIY Videos
To help budding anglers fill their youth fishing passport fishing challenge score card the Fish With CARE program has made a special playlist on the DEEP Video YouTube channel.
The fishing challenge is free for young anglers ages 15 and younger. The challenge is a year-long fishing scavenger hunt to try and catch all 33 species on the score card. Catches are submitted online and results displayed on the dashboard. For more info, please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov
This Month's Mystery Fish
Think you know this species 👀? Send your guess to mike.beauchene@ct.gov
Mystery Fish Revealed
Last month's mystery fish was a juvenile Conger Eel (Conger oceanicus). This eel was caught by one of the participants at the Fish with CARE saltwater fishing day at Fort Trumbull State Park this past August. With a quick glance most identified it as an American eel and went about the day. However, something was not quite right. The dorsal and ventral fins of this eel were translucent at the base and had a dark fringe. The eye was also a bit larger and more pronounced. A few quick image searches led us to the "Conger Eel".
Conger eels are some of the largest growing eels. Often these fish can reach 6-8 feet and over 10 pounds. The CT State Record Conger Eel is 13 pounds and 51.75 inches long, caught by Steven Bender in Niantic Bay on October 22, 2022 (see image below).
Need to find a place to fish? Check out our "Where to Fish For..." interactive map with video tutorial below.
DIY Videos- our complete library can be found on the DEEP YouTube Channel
How to get your fishing license online
How to get the youth fishing passport online
Have a Tip or Photo You Would Like to See in CT Fishin' Tips?
Have a Tip or Photo You Would Like to See in CT Fishin' Tips? Email your tip to DEEP.Inland.Fisheries@ct.gov
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
Report a Fishing or Hunting Violation
Call DEEP's Environmental Conservation Police 24/7
860-424-3333
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