Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
Fishing
Page 6 of 18
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Rarity and difficulty with identification cause the blackspotted stickleback’s whereabouts in Connecticut to be unclear.
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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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Brook trout prefer small, cold streams with gravel or cobble bottoms and adequate cover.
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The brown bullhead is Connecticut’s most widely distributed and only native catfish species. They are good to eat, but are typically underutilized by anglers.
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This easily overlooked minnow, the bridle shiner, is apparently declining throughout much of its range.
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The channel catfish is the state’s largest catfish species.
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Learn all about common carp, one of Connecticut's biggest and hardest fighting fish!
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Catfish and bullheads have eight barbels around the mouth: two off the snout, two off the corners of the mouth, and four under the chin. These long barbels give the impression of whiskers, hence the name “catfishes.”
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The chain pickerel is Connecticut’s largest native freshwater predatory fish. Before the introduction of bass, it was the top predator in the state’s lakes and ponds.
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The burbot is the only completely freshwater member of the cod family. Little is known of its life history in Connecticut.
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Although central mudminnows look superficially like minnows or killifish, they are actually more closely related to pickerel and pike.
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Codfishes are characterized by having a single barbel on the middle of the chin.
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Cutlip minnows are known to sometimes knock out and eat the eyes of other fishes.
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Creek chubsucker populations have reportedly declined in streams that are subject to siltation.
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With no obvious and distinctive characteristics, the common shiner is one of the most difficult fish to identify.