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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! 👍👍
July 2026
Please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov with any suggestions, comments, or questions related to CT's Fisheries.
2026 Fishing Licenses
Don't miss any days of fishing in 2026 - renew or get your fishing license today! Planning to keep a trout or fish in a Trout Management Area, Wild Trout Management Area, Trout Park, or Atlantic Salmon Management Area? Be sure to add the Trout and Salmon Stamp to your cart before checking out - required for harvesting trout or fishing any of those special management areas.
Summer Tautog Opens: July 1 - August 31
Summer tog season is a great opportunity to target these hard fighting, very tasty locally favorite fish with rod and reel in shallow water - or grab your snorkel, cool off and go spearfishing for them! The summer blackfish season runs until August 31. The daily limit is 2 fish per person, and the minimum length is 16 inches.
Fort Trumbull Fishing Pier
The fishing pier at Fort Trumbull State Park (New London) is an exceptional pier, offers pristine views of the Thames River mouth, and is designed with anglers in mind. A large variety of species can be found including scup (porgy), summer flounder (fluke), bluefish, blackfish, spot, and striped bass.
Check out our pier fishing video for tips on fishing Long Island Sounds shoreline. If you would like some hands-on "coaching", join our Fish with CARE team at one of our learn to fishing events (schedule below).
Learn to Fish with CARE!
Fish with CARE schedule, visit our web page for full list of 2026 events:
The Fish with CARE program (CT Aquatic Resource Education) has been introducing, or re-introducing, people to fishing since 1986. Fishing means many things to many people. Come find what fishing means to you by attending one of our many fishing events.
Check out our online, self-paced "Let's Go Fishing" course - a beginner's guide to fishing in CT - and put your skills to the test at a Fish with CARE event. We have all of the equipment, bait and a dedicated group of knowledgeable and patient fishing coaches to support you. A fishing license is required for participants age 16 and older.
We Have Heard You
Thank you to the anglers who provided input via the Fisheries Division's survey about the "Catch and Release" season for trout (just over 3,900 responses). We are reviewing the data and will have a report of our findings in the coming months.
Five years have passed since the CT General Assembly passed a law that removed the closed season for trout. As a result of that law, the Fisheries Division surveyed anglers to determine preference for a regulation to support that law, which resulted in the current "Catch and Release" season.
Meet Your Fisheries Team
Each month in 2026 you will get to meet one of the highly dedicated and passionate staff of the Fisheries Division. Each of our team bring skill and professionalism to make CT's fisheries the best they can be.
Meet Mike Beauchene
Mike is the project lead for the CT DEEP's "Fish with CARE" program, oversees communication and publications, and the urban fishing program. Mike has been in this role since 2011. Prior to working in the Fisheries Division Mike was in the DEEP Water Quality Monitoring program leading fish community assessments and volunteer water quality monitoring efforts.
Education: BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (UConn '91) and MS in Natural Resource Management (Fisheries) (UConn '94).
What was the spark to get you interested in fisheries biology/management? Growing up in Barkhamsted I spent countless hours watching wild brook trout, crayfish, and aquatic insects interact in a small stream right behind my home. Later in high school I was fortunate to be able to shadow fisheries biologists who were studying Atlantic salmon smolt emigration on Sandy Brook. I was stunned that you could have a career working all day in a stream with fish. Finally my family, who instilled a deep sense of the value of our natural resources.
Favorite part of the job: Making a difference for the fisheries resources of the state and increasing peoples awareness and appreciation of these resources. Educating people who have been mis-informed or never knew about the various aspects of DEEP's fisheries management efforts.
Least favorite part of the job: The extreme challenges to overcome burdensome policies and bureaucracy which can stifle any innovation or progress. I keep trying.
When not at work: I love floating off the shoreline in my kayak slinging live eels, which often results in being pulled around by some beasty striped bass. I also enjoy visiting my daughter at the University of Wyoming where Jack-A-Lope are all over the place (usually I only get to see the females, which look a lot like a bunny).
Trivia/Favorites of Mike:
Pizza Topping: Eggplant and Garlic (Willington Pizza)
Movie: Jaws
Favorite Fish: Aphrodite of the hemlock (Brook Trout), because they are the best.
Favorite Concert: Delicate Sounds of Thunder - Pink Floyd
Red Sox or Yankees: Red Sox
Phobia: Being mauled by a bear
Dream place to live: Fiji
Favorite animal: The elusive Jack-A-Lope (females are far more common than males)
Fishing Challenge DIY Videos
To help budding anglers fill their Youth Fishing Passport (YFP) fishing challenge score card the Fish With CARE program has made a special playlist on the DEEP Video YouTube channel. The playlist will give you tips on gear, bait, and techniques on targeting each of the 33 fish species found in the YFP fishing challenge!
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 these 3 species 👀? Send your guess to mike.beauchene@ct.gov
Mystery Fish Revealed
Last month's mystery fish were a trifecta of sunfish species. From left to right the species are - Pumpkinseed (native), Bluegill (introduced), and Redbreast (native). Sunfish are prolific and very common across the state. One or more species of sunfish can be found in just about every body of water in CT. When 2 or more species are found the species may hybridize, which results in a very unique and colorful fish.
Learn about all of Connecticut's Freshwater Fish in our mobile friendly application.
Access CT's Freshwater Fish Community Data in our interactive data viewer.
Need to find a place to fish? Check out our "Where to Fish For..." interactive map with the video tutorial below.
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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