Fishing
Page 14 of 17
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Five species (and one hybrid, the “tiger trout”) exist in Connecticut. Only the brook trout and Atlantic salmon are native; the rest were introduced as sport fish.
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Brown trout can grow to large sizes and are generally harder to catch than brook or rainbow trout.
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This primitive family has a diverse fossil record, but only one species still exists.
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There are six native species of herring that commonly enter fresh waters in Connecticut.
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As with hybrids between many fish species, tiger trout tend to be more aggressive and faster-growing than either parent species.
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Brook trout prefer small, cold streams with gravel or cobble bottoms and adequate cover.
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Hybrids are more common in unfished or lightly fished waters, most likely because they are easier to catch than the parent species and are thus removed more quickly from heavily fished waters.
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Also called “calico bass,” crappie grow quickly and are a popular food and sport fish.
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Rarity and difficulty with identification cause the blackspotted stickleback’s whereabouts in Connecticut to be unclear.
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Prefer backwaters and slow-moving areas of larger rivers and streams as well as lakes and ponds. They appear to be more tolerant of brackish water than channel catfish.
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Black bullheads are very difficult to distinguish from brown bullheads. It is unclear whether the few individuals reported in Connecticut represent self-sustaining populations.
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Ninespine stickleback males build little tunnel-shaped nests out of bits of vegetation.
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Mudminnows are a small family of the Northern Hemisphere that look similar to killifish and minnows, but are actually more closely related to pike.
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Atlantic salmon were extirpated from the Connecticut River and, despite extensive restoration efforts, self-sustaining runs do not occur.
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Adorned with an armament of long, sharp spines, white perch are difficult for both anglers and predators to handle.