Fishing

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• Smallmouth Bass

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

• Hybrid Sunfish

  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.

• Black Crappie

  Also called “calico bass,” crappie grow quickly and are a popular food and sport fish.

• Largemouth Bass

  The most popular gamefish in the country, the largemouth bass is also the principal predator in most of our state’s lakes and ponds and thus plays a key role in the health of aquatic ecosystems.

• Blackspotted Stickleback

  Rarity and difficulty with identification cause the blackspotted stickleback’s whereabouts in Connecticut to be unclear.

• White Catfish

  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.

• Black Bullhead

  Black bullheads are very difficult to distinguish from brown bullheads. It is unclear whether the few individuals reported in Connecticut represent self-sustaining populations.

• Table of Contents

  This pictorial guide contains interesting and useful information about all of Connecticut's fascinating freshwater fishes.

• 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.

• Brown Trout

  Brown trout can grow to large sizes and are generally harder to catch than brook or rainbow trout.

• Bowfins

  This primitive family has a diverse fossil record, but only one species still exists.

• Herrings

  There are six native species of herring that commonly enter fresh waters in Connecticut.

• Freshwater Eels

  Learn about freshwater eels, Connecticut's only catadromous fish!

• Lampreys

  Learn more about this primitive family of fishes that have a sucking disc in place of a jaw.

• Tiger Trout

  As with hybrids between many fish species, tiger trout tend to be more aggressive and faster-growing than either parent species.