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100% of your investment in fishing license fees come to the DEEP Bureau of Natural Resources to support your passion for the outdoors- Thank You! 👍👍
May 2025
Please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov with any suggestions, comments, or questions related to CT's Fisheries.
2025 Fishing Licenses are Available
Fishing licenses are available for 2025. Don't miss a single day of fishing - renew or get your fishing license today.
FREE Fishing Day - No License Required
Saturday, May 10 is CT's annual FREE fishing day. There is no requirement to have a license to fish.
Please note that all other fishing rules and regulations remain in effect (like size limits, daily limits, etc.). We hope you take advantage of this opportunity to get out or take someone new out to experience the many benefits fishing has to offer! If you have questions, please reach out to: mike.beauchene@ct.gov
DEEP's FREE Fishing Day EVENT!
Join the FISH with CARE program on Saturday, May 10 at Chatfield Hollow State Park as we celebrate FREE fishing day!
Trophy Fish Awards - 2024
The annual summary reports for the Trophy Fish Award Program both Freshwater and Marine are now published. There area also two new documents for freshwater. These documents are a comprehensive summary of all trophy fish awards over time. Check out the Harvest Report or the Catch and Release Report.
Congratulations to all who landed a memory of a lifetime. To have your catch recognized in our annual report; 1. verify the minimum criteria on our web page and 2. fill out the simple online application.
Date Adjustment for 2025 Black Sea Bass
Connecticut has made a small adjustment to the recreational black sea bass season to accommodate a Saturday opening day. Black sea bass will open on Saturday, May 17th.
Regulation Changes for black sea bass 2025 in bold
Minimum length:16 inches**
Daily creel limit: 5 fish per angler
Open Season: May 17 - June 23; July 8 - November 25; season closed June 24 - July 7
**Excluding tail fin filament (tendril)
The regulations for all other species remain the same as 2024. Visit our webpage for 2025 Saltwater Recreational Regulations.
Fluke, Porgy, Black Sea Bass OPEN in May
April showers bring May flowers, but May brings opening day for Porgy (May 1), Fluke (May 4), and Black Sea Bass (May 17), and Blue Crab (May 1). These popular species join Winter Flounder (April 1), Striped Bass (year round), Bluefish (year round), and Weakfish (year round) as saltwater species to chase. Please note: The April Blackfish season ended on April 3, with the summer season opening on July 1. View the 2025 saltwater regulations for all species.
The following 3 videos offer basic tips to help catch these important recreational species. The videos were developed specifically to assist our Youth Fishing Passport holders who are participating in our year-long Fishing Challenge.
New Fishing Line Recycling Receptacles
Kudos to Lyman Hall High School students who built and installed nine fishing line recycling receptacles, each with a bi-lingual sign, in Meriden. Please help to do your part by appropriately discarding any used fishing line you may come across.
Want to learn to fish? Brush up on your techniques? Catch a nutritious and locally sourced meal?
The Fisheries Division's FISH with CARE program has announced our schedule of fishing events for 2025. To register for any or all, please visit our web page to learn more and see our schedule
Trout Identification Challenge
Congratulations to Deanna R. She was randomly selected from the several dozen correct entries in last editions Trout ID challenge. Deanna will receive the "Freshwater Fishes of CT" publication - Congrats!!
Fish #1 was a Brook Trout
Fish #2 was a Tiger Trout
Fish #3 was a Brown Trout
Fish #4 was a Rainbow Trout
Eagle Landing Fishing Pier OPEN
A brand-new pier at Eagle Landing State Park in Haddam is now open for anglers, nature lovers, and other members of the public to enjoy scenic views, fishing, and more on the beautiful lower Connecticut River. Built by Amtrak and owned by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), the permanent pier now provides an alternate fishing location while the Ferry Landing Pier/Boardwalk in Old Lyme is closed to make way for Amtrak’s construction of a new Connecticut River Bridge between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook.
The park is located at 14 Little Meadow Road, Haddam. Additional details are available at ctparks.com.
Ferry Landing Fishing Pier CLOSED
Amtrak’s Connecticut River Bridge Project is now underway to replace the existing 118-year-old bridge with a modern moveable bridge that will improve the customer experience by eliminating delays, providing faster journeys, and modernizing another critical infrastructure asset that benefits the entire Northeast Corridor. With construction of the new bridge underway, Ferry Landing Pier/Boardwalk is now closed.
Once the new Connecticut River Bridge is in service and the old bridge has been demolished in 2029, Amtrak will build a new and improved, fully accessible 1,000+ foot long observation deck and stairway at Ferry Landing State Park that would open in 2030/2031. The new Ferry Landing Pier/Boardwalk will upgrade the overall experience for everyone, featuring a 50% wider walkway with improved accessibility, a location slightly west of the existing site that will provide anglers better access to deep water, and stronger, more durable concrete piles for more support compared to the wooden piles used for the original structure.
Aquatic Invasive Species Stamp Info
New for 2025- The Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Stamp must be purchased separately from your vessel registration. Any person operating a vessel on Connecticut inland waters that is required to be registered, in CT or another state, must have a CT AIS Stamp.
There are two AIS Stamp options:
$7 individual operator
or
$25 AIS decal to cover all operators on a vessel
Visit AIS Stamp FAQs for more information. You can purchase your 2025 AIS Stamp now through the Online Sportsmen Licensing system. This is required for CT registered and out of state registered vessels.
DIY Videos
Learn some tips for fishing in CT's Trout Parks and 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 all age 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 Rainbow Trout. While CT does not have ideal spawning habitat or conditions for rainbow trout, occasionally nature wins. This fish was observed during routine stream electrofishing monitoring in Curtiss Brook, Newtown. The Fisheries Division has also observed spawning success from time to time in several tributaries to the upper Housatonic River (likely due to a spring stocking of spawn-ready adults). For more on the Fisheries Division's fish community data, check out our new online fish community data app (replaces the UConn Fish Community Map).
Nice Catch! (By our Law Enforcement)
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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