Connecticut Fish and Wildlife We are very pleased to announce that Governor Ned Lamont has opened fishing in the Inland District, including trout fishing effective today (3/24/20). All other regulations for fishing, including, but not limited to, licensing, stamps, methods, catch-and-release areas, creel limits and length limits shall remain in effect. Anglers shall practice social distancing measures, such as remaining six feet apart.
Please join Mike Beauchene on Wednesday, March 25, 2020 at 3:00 pm for a LIVE Q&A on the CT Fish and Wildlife Facebook page, about this order and any other fishing questions you may have. Do your part and stay apart as SOCIAL DISTANCING IS A MUST, even when fishing! Here is a link to the order https://portal.ct.gov/…/Lamont-Ex…/Executive-Order-No-7L.pdf.
Here are the key excerpts:
WHEREAS, fishing is a healthy outdoor activity and an opportunity to enjoy Connecticut's natural resources, provided that anglers practice social distancing by standing at least six feet apart, and not traveling in groups; and
WHEREAS, opening the fishing season early in inland waters will help to limit community spread of COVID-19 by eliminating the large crowds that often accompany the traditional Opening Day of fishing in April;
2. Early Opening of Fishing Season. Notwithstanding Section 26-112 of the Connecticut General Statutes and any associated regulations, effective immediately and through the remainder of the 2020 fishing season, unless earlier modified or terminated by the Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection, there is no closed season for fishing in the inland waters of Connecticut. The Commissioner of Energy and Environmental Protection may extend or modify the open seasons for inland waters fishing without notice and public hearing and issue any implementing orders she deems necessary consistent with this order. All other regulations for fishing, including, but not limited to, licensing, stamps, methods, catch-and-release areas, creel limits and length limits shall remain in effect. Anglers shall practice social distancing measures, such as remaining six feet apart.
Additionally, here is a River Report from Tuesday, March 24 - provided by Paul Dinice, member of Housatonic Valley Fly Fishers
Hi Everyone, I know this is a very difficult and troubling time for all of us. Thankfully, we can still get out and fly fish while practicing social distancing. What’s better than that to pass the monotony of being isolated. If you haven’t been out fishing in a while, go through your gear first and get familiar with the fly boxes in your vest from your last fishing excursion. Switch them out to reflect late March fishing. Some friends of mine actually developed a check list so that they don’t forget a needed tool or piece of equipment. You might want to do the same.
Upper Housatonic
After yesterday’s rain the river is running at approximately 1,600 cfs. A little bit too high to wade everywhere, but if your familiar with the river there are spots that you can access. The forecast for the next couple of days does have some more rain coming in. Hard to say how it will impact the river. Whether you nymph or streamer fish, you must get your flies down. This past weekend the weather turned a little colder. The trout might be more in a winter than spring mode. At least that’s my best guess. Not a lot of reports coming into me for the upper Housatonic. I still like using egg patterns, big nymphs like 20”inchers, yellow stones, and rubber legs. In addition to big and bold flies, I’ll fish attractor and junk stuff like mops & squimies. Keep on the lookout for little black stones. They are still out there. Don’t just fish the dries, black stone fly nymphs and wets can also work well in the prehatch hours. Finally, if there is one subsurface nymph that continually produces on the Hous, it’s the Prince Nymph. Big ones work great in early spring.
Farmington River
The Farmington is fishing very well right now and it’s chock full of fish. The State finished stocking early here and there are hold over fish and stockies up and down the river. One friend did well on small pheasant tail nymphs, another on small streamers. Again, keep looking for little black stones, winter caddis, and midge hatches. The most productive time of day is mid-afternoon when things warm up a bit. This time of year it’s hard to tell what the ‘hot’ fly will be, so try your favorites or experiment a little bit. In slower water I’ll usually go smaller. Zebra Midges and small perdigons are what I usually fish for trout still holding in soft/slower ‘winter’ pockets. Again, experimentation can lead to a very productive day.
Lower Housatonic and Salt Water
Fishing on the lower Housatonic has calmed down a bit this past weekend. I was out all along the river and there were many spinning and bait fishermen out there. Very few fish were landed. Mother nature brought us a cold snap that seemed to turn off the fish. Even the boaters had some difficult times hooking into bass. That’s not to say that the fish aren’t there. It’s just that the lower water temps shut them down temporarily. That will change dramatically soon. You just have to locate the fish when they are on the feed. There’s no magic flies here. The bass normally eat anything once active. You just have to be lucky enough to get your fly in front of them. If you have a salt water spinning rod you might want to use that to reach some fish that might not venture close enough to catch them on a fly rod. I hate to say this but fishing at dusk and into the night is the most productive time for these fish. You better dress appropriately. Don’t let being cold ruin your fishing experience.
Smaller streams & rivers
The State has also done a great job stocking smaller rivers and TMA’s. Consult your CT State Fishing guide to find out which rivers and TMA’s are available in your area. A digital copy of the Fishing Guide is available for download at http://www.eregulations.com/connecticut/fishing/ . If you haven’t gotten your license yet, get it! More than likely the only way to receive one is via online registration.
Finally, please stay safe out there. All HFFA meetings and events are canceled right now. Better times are coming and we must all stay patient and strong to get through this. Take care & Tight Lines.