Freshwater Fishing Guide

Species Regulations

Statewide Inland Fisheries Regulations
(As of December 27, 2022)

From March 1 until 6:00 am on the second Saturday of April, trout fishing is catch and release only statewide. There are exceptions, so please refer to the river/stream or lake/pond pages for regulations on a specific waterbody.

March 1, 2022 - The passage of Public Act 21-12 by the legislature eliminated the closed season for trout. For more information on Legal Methods and Gear, Length Limits, Creel and Possession Limits, and Species, refer to the "definitions" option on the left menu. Note: Regulations for several marine species found in the Inland District are subject to change. Quick Species Look Up (select the species to jump to the statewide regulation)

Species	Species	Species
Alewife/Blueback Herring	Bowfin, Tench, Suckers, and Lampreys	Striped Bass
American Eel	Chain Pickerel	Sturgeon, Burbot
American Shad	Hickory Shad	Trout (Brook, Brown, Rainbow, Tiger, other hybrids)
Atlantic Salmon	Kokanee	White Perch
Bass (Largemouth, Smallmouth)	Northern Pike/Tiger Musky	Walleye
Catfish (Channel, White) and bullheads	Panfish**
Common Carp	Smelt

Alewife or Blueback Herring

Taking of anadromous alewife and blueback herring from all Connecticut waters is prohibited. Emergency closure is in effect. See Broodstock Atlantic Salmon and River Herring for more information.

Exception: Landlocked alewife only may be taken from specific lakes. See Broodstock Atlantic Salmon and River Herring for list of lakes. Methods, seasons, and creel limits for these lakes are as follows:

Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Angling	Lakes and Ponds	Open year-round	No minimum length	25
Scoop Net	Lakes and Ponds	April 1 – June 15	No minimum length	25

American Eel

Spearing and bow and arrow use prohibited in streams or stream sections stocked with trout. Spearing prohibited in all lakes and ponds. The taking of elver eel, glass eel, and silver eel is prohibited.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice fishing, Bobbing, Bow and Arrow, Spearing	All areas	Open year-round	9"	25

American Shad (about shad assessments)

Harvest of American shad allowed only in the Connecticut River system.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling	Connecticut River (including tributaries open year-round)	Open year-round	No minimum length	6

Atlantic Salmon (about Atlantic Salmon Management Areas)

Taking of Atlantic Salmon is prohibited. Exception: Naugatuck River, Shetucket River, Housatonic River and lakes stocked by CT DEEP. (For current rules and regulations, please see the Commissioner's Declaration.)

Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass (about bass management) (about bass tournaments)

Daily creel limit is for both species in aggregate.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth Bass	Angling, Ice Fishing	Lakes and Ponds	Open year-round	12"	6
	Angling, Ice Fishing	Rivers and Streams	Open year-round	No minimum length	6
	Angling, Ice Fishing	Connecticut River	Open year-round	12"	6
Bass Management lakes have different regulations that listed here. Please check the Lake and Pond regulation page by waterbody (link on left menu).

Burbot Taking of burbot prohibited.

Catfish (Channel Catfish and White Catfish) and bullheads (brown and yellow) (about catfish fisheries)

Daily creel limit is for both catfish (Channel Catfish and White Catfish) species in aggregate. No creel limit for bullheads.

Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Angling, Ice fishing, Bobbing	Lakes/Ponds/Rivers/Streams	Open year-round	No minimum length	Catfish – 6 Bullheads – No limit
	Community Fishing Waters	Open year-round	No minimum length	Catfish – 3 Bullheads – No limit

Channel Catfish	White Catfish	Brown Bullhead	Yellow Bullhead

Common Carp (about Trophy Carp Management Areas)

Spearing and bow and arrow use prohibited in streams or stream sections stocked with trout. Spearing prohibited in all lakes and ponds.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing, Bobbing, Bow and Arrow, Spearing	All Areas	Open year-round	No minimum length, only 1 fish >30"	5
Bow and Arrow Bonus: The daily creel limit for common carp taken by bow and arrow fishing shall be twelve (12), not more than three (3) of which may exceed thirty inches in length, in the following areas: West Thompson Lake, the Thames River and its coves, including the Shetucket River downstream from Greenville Dam and the Yantic River downstream of the falls at Indian Leap in Norwich, the Connecticut River and its coves downstream of the Arrigoni Bridge, the Mattabesset River (Sebethe River) downstream of Route 3, including the Cromwell Meadows Wildlife Management Area, the Coginchaug River downstream of Route 3, the Quinnipiac River downstream of Route 40 and the Housatonic River downstream of the Derby Dam.

Bowfin, Tench, Suckers and Lampreys

Spearing and bow and arrow use prohibited in streams or stream sections stocked with trout. Spearing prohibited in all lakes and ponds.

Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Angling, Ice Fishing, Bobbing, Bow and Arrow, Spearing	All Areas	Open year-round	No minimum length	No Limit

Bowfin	Tench	White Sucker	Lamprey

Chain Pickerel

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing	Lakes and Ponds	Open year-round	15"	6
	Angling, Ice Fishing	Rivers and Streams	Open year-round	No minimum length	No Limit

Hickory Shad

Daily creel limit is in aggregate with American shad.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing, Scoop Net	All Areas	Open year-round	No minimum length	6

Kokanee (about Kokanee fishery)

Trout and Salmon Stamp may be needed.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing	All Areas	6:00 am second Saturday of April until the last day of Febuary	No minimum length	5***
	Angling, Ice Fishing	All Areas	March 1 until 6:00 am second Saturday of April	No minimum length	0 (catch and release only)

Northern Pike (about Pike Management) and Tiger Muskie

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing	All Areas	Open year-round	26"	2
CT River, Lake Lillinonah, Bantam Lake and Little Pond (Litchfield) each have regulations for Pike that differ than those listed here. Please check the Lake and Pond regulation page by waterbody (link on left menu).

Panfish** Calico Bass/Black Crappie, All Sunfish Species, Yellow Perch

Except White Perch, see below.

Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Angling, Ice Fishing, Bobbing	All Areas	Open year-round	No minimum length	No Limit

Calico Bass/Black Crappie	Bluegill	Pumpkinseed	Rock Bass	Yellow Perch

Smelt

Taking of smelt in rivers and streams is prohibited.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing	Lakes and Ponds	Open year-round	No minimum length	50

Striped Bass

Effective at 12:00 am on May 26, 2023, CT's Striped Bass regulations change to become a slot of 28 inches to 31 inches. Any striped bass that is less than 28 inches or greater than or equal to 31 inches must be released without avoidable injury. This change was the result of emergency action by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on May 2, 2023. This action set a maximum size of 31 inches for striped bass coast-wide. As a result Connecticut's previous slot of 28 inches to 35 inches is now reduced to 28-31 inches.

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Slot Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling; Circle Hooks required when using bait - get details.	All Areas	Open year-round	28"-35"	1

Sturgeon Taking of sturgeon prohibited.

Trout (Brook, Brown, Lake, Rainbow, Tiger and other hybrids)

Lake Trout: Same season and daily limits below; Minimum length is 20 inches. Occasionally the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service donates Lake Trout they no longer need to CT. These fish are stocked into select lakes in order to create an immediate unique fishery. The CT Fisheries Division does not have a program to manage lake trout. Please enjoy when a stocking opportunity arises.

Trout and Salmon Stamp may be needed.

Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
Angling, Ice Fishing	Lakes and Ponds, Rivers and Streams	6:00 am second Saturday of April until last day of February	No minimum length	5***
		March 1 until 6:00 am second Saturday of April	No minimum length	0 (catch and release only)
Angling, Ice Fishing	Tidal Waters and Tributaries	Open year-round	15"	2***
Many waters have different regulations for trout than are listed here. Please check the regulations for the specific lake/pond or river/stream you are fishing (link in left menu)

Brook Trout	Brown Trout	Rainbow Trout	Tiger Trout

White Perch

Photo	Legal Methods	Area	Open Season	Minimum Length	Daily Creel Limit
	Angling, Ice Fishing, Bobbing	Connecticut River (including coves and tributaries) Tidally influenced Rivers and Streams	Open year-round	7"	30
	Angling, Ice Fishing, Bobbing	Lakes and Ponds All other Rivers and Streams	Open year-round	No minimum length	None