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January 2026

Please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov with any suggestions, comments, or questions related to CT's Fisheries.

2026 Fishing Licenses Available

Don't miss any days of fishing in 2026 - renew or get your fishing license today!

Ice Safety is Paramount

Winter temperatures bring the potential for lakes and ponds to freeze solid. Solid is the key. We strongly encourage all to make sure ice is safe before heading out - be sure to check as you go and never assume ice thickness is uniform! View some ice safety tips here. Watch a video on how to check ice thickness.

Courtesy Utah State Parks

2026 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Booklet Available

The 2026 Freshwater (Inland) Fishing Regulations Summary Guide should be available at many town clerks and DEEP field offices shortly, but the guide is always available to view or download online 24/7. Changes to the regulations, which take effect on January 1, 2026 are noted in the guide, described in an article below, and on our webpage.

Meet Your Fisheries Team

During each month in 2026 you will get to meet one of the highly dedicated and passionate staff of the Fisheries Division. Each of our team bring skill and professionalism to make CT's fisheries the best they can be.

Meet Drew Ransom who is a Fisheries Biologist in the Coldwater Fisheries Program.

B.S. from UConn in Natural Resources and a M.S. from UW - Green Bay in Environmental Science and Policy.

I grew up in a small-town in Connecticut where I spent much of my time outside. I still do, with hunting and fishing taking up most of my free time. Both hobbies are great for enjoying life but terrible for my bank account. Who needs money anyway? Fisheries has given me the opportunity to explore the country, and I lived in Wisconsin and Idaho (twice) after graduating from UConn in 2015. Much to my surprise, I was able to come back to Connecticut in 2023 after being offered my current position as a biologist with the Coldwater Program. Since then I have been enjoying fishing salt water as much as possible, fall foliage, big woods whitetail hunting, and how close together everything in in New England (everything is under 6 hours, are you kidding me???). Hope to see you out on the water, tight lines!

More About Drew

What was the spark to get you interested in fisheries biology/management? I always wanted to work in some environmental field, but it wasn't until I took a Fisheries Management class in college that I knew it was actually a thing people did for a living. Having a job that was focused on making fishing better sounded like the best thing ever. Since then it's been a constant adventure working indifferent places and on different projects.

Favorite part of the job: The variety of projects I get to work on. Depending on the day I could be out electrofishing, helping to stock trout, analyzing data, setting or checking nets, hiking around streams, writing reports, or out talking to people asking how the fishing is going. It's never a dull moment!

Least favorite part of the job: There's not a whole lot to dislike, but probably the unpredictability of the weather. A lot of the sampling we do is time sensitive and also weather dependent. A major storm or extended drought can derail our schedule for weeks and we have to scramble to get things done on time. All the big rain events last summer were a particularly rough example of this.

Trivia/Favorites of Drew:

Pizza Topping: Sausage and basil

Movie: Ocean's 11

Red Sox or Yankees: Red Sox

Phobia: Snakes

Dream place to live: New Zealand

Year 2 of the Atlantic Salmon Tagging Study

Adult Atlantic salmon are stocked each fall (at various times starting in September, pending river conditions) into three river sections designated as “Atlantic Salmon Management Areas” and into select lakes. Atlantic salmon are being tagged for the second year as part of a study being conducted by the the Fisheries Division. This year, they will be given a blue tag (last year the tags were orange). We would really like to hear if you catch a tagged fish from last year or this year. Please let us know via one of the 3 reporting methods below if you catch a tagged salmon. Do not remove the tag when releasing the fish. Harvest begins on December 16. Atlantic salmon regulations can be found on our webpage.

New Inland Regulations for 2026

The following NEW regulations take effect on January 1, 2026.

Trout:

All trout must be 9 inches or larger to keep.

The sections of Kettletown Brook, Macedonia Brook, and Mashamoquet Brook within the respective state parks are now classified as Trout Parks and have a 2 trout daily limit.

22 waters become Class 1 Wild Trout Management Areas. Fishing is restricted to catch and release only. Gear is restricted to use of a single barbless hook on an artificial lure or a fly.

Beaver Brook in Barkhamsted
Belden Brook in Granby
Bonemill Brook in Tolland & Ellington
Cold Brook and tributaries in Glastonbury
Green Falls River in North Stonington
Gulf Stream and tributaries in Somers
Hall Meadow Brook in Norfolk
Thorne Brook and tributaries in Hartland
Hurricane Brook in Hartland
Indian Hole Brook in Shelton
Jericho Brook in Thomaston
Lowden Brook in Voluntown
Mohawk Pond Outflow in Goshen
Morgan Brook in Barkhamsted
Pease Brook in Bozrah
Railroad Brook in Vernon
Sages Ravine Brook in Salisbury
Spruce Brook and tributaries in Litchfield
Stony Brook in Montville
Stratton Brook in Simsbury
West Branch Salmon Brook and tributaries in Hartland
Willow Brook and tributaries in Hamden & Cheshire

Establishment of a "thermal refuge" on Highland Lake. Fishing is prohibited at the confluence of Taylor Brook from July 1 until October 15.

Bass:

The Housatonic River Bass Management Area is catch and release fishing only (bass) from the CT/MA state line downstream to the Bleachery Dam in New Milford. All bass must be immediately released without avoidable injury.

Chain Pickerel:

Three Chain Pickerel Management Lakes are created: East Twin Lake, West Twin Lake and Lake Wononskopomuc. Chain Pickerel have a 1 fish per daily creel limit and a 22 inch minimum length.

Channel Catfish:

Allen Pond (Wharton Brook State Park) now has a 3 catfish daily limit.

The following are REMOVED or CHANGED from the regulations for sportfishing in the inland district.

1 Trout Management Lake is removed: Crystal Lake in Ellington reverts to statewide regulations for trout, 5 fish per day with 9 inch minimum length. Atlantic salmon, when stocked, follow the Commissioner's Declaration.

3 Sea-Run Trout Streams are removed and revert to statewide trout regulations of 5 fish per day, 9-inch minimum length. The 3 sea-run sections removed are on the Eightmile River, Whitford Brook, and Mianus River.

6 Class 3 Wild Trout Management Areas are removed/reclassified

The sections of the East Branch Naugatuck River and the Shunock River revert to the statewide regulations of 5 trout per day, 9-inch minimum length.

Macedonia Brook within the state park now becomes a Trout Park.

Pease Brook and Stony Brook (Montville) become Class 1 Wild Trout Management Areas.

Nice Catch for Someone

Just one of the amazing Atlantic salmon stocked by the Fisheries Division specifically for you! This fish was stocked on December 2, 2025 in the Campville Section of the Naugatuck River. If you look closely you can see the blue tag just behind the dorsal fin. If you are lucky to catch this fish (or any other tagged salmon) we want to hear from you. See the article above about how to report tagged salmon.

DEEP's Winterfest - Save the Date

DEEP's annual Winter Festival will be held on Saturday February 7 with a foul weather date of February 8, 2026.

Fishing Challenge DIY Videos

To help budding anglers fill their Youth Fishing Passport (YFP) fishing challenge score card the Fish With CARE program has made a special playlist on the DEEP Video YouTube channel. The playlist will give you tips on gear, bait, and techniques on targeting each of the 33 fish species found in the YFP fishing challenge!

The fishing challenge is free for young anglers ages 15 and younger. The challenge is a year-long fishing scavenger hunt to try and catch all 33 species on the score card. Catches are submitted online and results displayed on the dashboard. For more info, please reach out to mike.beauchene@ct.gov