Fishing

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• Trouts and Salmons

  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.

• Warmouth

  Warmouths can be distinguished from other sunfishes by feeling for the patch of small teeth on the tongue.

• Green Sunfish

  Introductions of green sunfish have been implicated with adverse impacts on other fish species.

• Grass Carp

  Native to China and Siberia, this gigantic freshwater fish has been widely stocked for weed control.

• Gizzard Shad

  Gizzard shad were first observed in Connecticut during the late 1970s, apparently the result of a natural range expansion.

• Golden Shiner

  Commonly sold as bait, the golden shiner is our most common lake and pond minnow species.

• Rudd

  Not yet found in Connecticut, the Rudd has established populations in neighboring states.

• Sculpins

  Sculpins have a flattened head, large frog-like mouth and eyes, a scaleless body, and large fan-shaped pectoral fins.

• Rock Bass

  Rock bass have relatively large mouths, so are commonly caught by anglers seeking larger gamefish.

• Redfin Pickerel

  Connecticut’s smallest pike species. They are typically mistaken for small chain pickerel by anglers.

• Redbreast Sunfish

  In Connecticut, the redbreast sunfish typically outnumbers other sunfish species only in river environments.

• Sea Lamprey

  The state's only parasitic fish to enter freshwater, the sea lamprey gets a bad reputation. Learn more about this fascinating fish.

• Smallmouth Bass

  Due to their hard-fighting abilities, smallmouths are considered by many to be superior gamefish to largemouths.

• Shortnose Sturgeon

  Learn about the shortnose sturgeon, a state and federally endangered species that call the CT River home.

• Sheepshead Minnow

  The sheepshead minnow is a standard for use in many laboratory toxicity and genetics studies.