Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection

DEEP headquarters at 79 Elm Street in Hartford has partially re-opened to staff and members of the public as of Tuesday, February 3. The DEEP records room has re-opened. The DEEP Central Permit Processing Unit (CPPU) will be open to the public starting on Wednesday, Feb. 4. For updates, click here

How Old Is Your Fish?

Using age estimates for fish of known length, fish biologists develop what is known as an age-length key. An age-length key describes the relationship between a fish's age and length - meaning we can estimate the age of a fish by its length. Use our keys below to find out the age of your catch!

Bluefish  |  Black Sea Bass  |  Summer Flounder (Fluke)  |  Winter Flounder  |  Tautog (Blackfish)  |  Scup (Porgy)  |  Weakfish  |  Hickory Shad  |  Striped Bass

Bluefish
Age (years) Length (inches) 
 1  7
 2  14
 3  20
 4  26
 5  30
 6  34
 7  35
 8  36
 9  37
 10  38

 

Black Sea Bass
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 5
2 10
3 12
4 13.5
5 15
6 17
7 18.5
8 19
9 20
10 21

 

Summer Flounder (Fluke)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 12
2 16
3 18
4 21
5 22
6 23.5
7 25
8 26
9 27
10 28
11  29
12  30

 

Winter Flounder
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 5
2 8
3 11
4 12
5 13
6 14
7 15
8 16
9 17
10 18
11 19
12 20

 

Tautog (Blackfish)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 3
2 6
3 9
4 11
5 13
6 15
7 17
8 19
9 21
10 22
11 23
12 24

 

Scup (Porgy)
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 4
2 6
3 8
4 10
5 11
6 12
7 13
8 14
9 15
10 16

 

Weakfish
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 8
2 15
3 18
4 22
5 25
6 26
7 27
8 28
9 29
10 30
11 31
12 32

 

Hickory Shad
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 4
2 8
3 12
4 14
5 16
6 17
7 18
8 19
9 20
10 21

 

Striped Bass
Age (years) Length (inches)
1 8
2 16
3 18
4 21
5 23
6 25
7 27
8 29
9 31
10 34
11 36
12 37
13 38
14 39
15 40
16 41
17 42
18 43
19 44
20 45

 

Content last updated March 2020