Community Corner

Fueling Fish Tales

Fishing season officially starts Saturday, and events are planned throughout the area to celebrate opening day.

Local anglers had better start practicing their casting...and their storytelling.

Saturday is opening day for Connecticut fishing, and events are planned throughout the area to celebrate the start of the season.

Tonight at 5 p.m. the Quinnipiac River Watershed Association will be stocking the Quinnipiac with more than 160 Rainbow, Brook, and Brown trout, some already almost two feet long.

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The association has invited families to help them release the fish into the river along the Gorge Linear Trail. Anyone interested should meet at the Red Bridge at Lions Club Park (near the intersection of River and Oregon Roads in South Meriden).

Seven of the fish will be tagged, and those who catch the tagged fish during the season will win a prize if they contact the association at 860-919-7236.

Find out what's happening in Meridenwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The state’s Department of Environmental Protection has also stocked bodies of water throughout the state. For a map of where the trout are in nearby towns, click here.

Since early March, DEP officials have stocked streams, lakes and ponds with some 387,000 trout. The state’s spring trout stocking effort will continue until the end of May, when the DEP expects to have stocked more than 650,000 catchable trout in local waters.

“Opening Day is an exciting time for Connecticut’s many trout anglers and they can look forward to exceptional fishing this season,” said Dan Esty, the DEP commissioner. “The fish are in excellent condition, nearly all of our trout waters are stocked and anglers can enjoy a wide range of fishing options.”

Some of the best places to fish for trout, Esty said, are some of the 11 “trout parks” in Connecticut, which include Chatfield Hollow State Park in Killingworth. The DEP will hold special family trout stocking events at the park on Opening Day at 10 a.m.

“We have found that these stockings are a real highlight for many families,” said Bill Hyatt, chief of the DEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. “Trout parks are easily accessible, have picnic areas and other amenities nearby, and are stocked frequently so that there are plenty of trout for children, families and novice anglers to catch.”

Anglers can purchase fishing licenses online, at local town halls, fishing tackle vendors and DEP field offices.

The state’s “Angler’s Guide” and the online licensing system can be accessed at the DEP’s website.


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