Fishing Guide (Formerly Angler's Guide)

The Fishing Guide is intended to provide a summary of the more important rules and regulations governing sport fishing in Connecticut and to assist in the enjoyment of the angling experience. For legal purposes, the Regulations of Connecticut State Agencies and the General Statutes of Connecticut must be consulted.

The 2024 Fishing Guide* is available for download in English and Spanish. Please note this document is now freshwater only. The saltwater regulations will be published at a later date in a separate brochure once they are finalized, which is usually late February.

*There are no changes to freshwater regulations for 2025.

November 20, 2024 - There are no changes to the sportfishing regulations for the inland district in 2025. The proposed regulations, as vetted through public comment in May of 2024, continue to move through the adoption process. As such, the Fisheries Division does not want to have these changes take effect in early 2025, which likely would cause confusion. Any changes to the regulations, as were presented during the public comment period in 2024, will not take effect until January 1, 2026.

Direct your questions to mike.beauchene@ct.gov.

Going Digital

Current Freshwater Digital Fishing Guide 

Current Saltwater Digital Fishing Guide

An exciting development is underway in what we refer to as “Information on Demand", where the DEEP Bureau of Natural Resources will expand on the delivery of fishing, hunting, and trapping information through the DEEP website and seek development of a robust smartphone APP.  As 2020 highlighted for all of us, information continues to be sought and consumed at an ever faster and faster rate. And you, our customers are ready, willing, and able to consume that information in novel way. That is true in our education, licensing, permitting, virtual public gatherings, and more.

As part of this transition, the printed full-color guides will be phased out. Beginning with the 2021/2022 season, each guide will be available on the DEEP website (see links above). To bridge any gaps as we transition, a pamphlet-style pocket guide of the fishing regulations will be printed in English and Spanish versions and published on our website.

This effort will represent major change and we have carefully considered those impacts. The benefits to “going digital” are many—convenient, immediate access to information from nearly anywhere; the ability to include multiple languages; the ability for real-time updates as regulations change or new areas open; increased relevance to the next generation of outdoor enthusiasts; and elimination of thousands of unused copies that end up being recycled or worse, simply disposed of. The option of having shorter PDF versions that can be printed for users if needed will help ease the transition.

Please contact the Fisheries Division with any questions. 

Phone: 860-424-FISH (3474)
E-mail: deep.inland.fisheries@ct.gov

Content last updated November 2024