Trout Stocking Ramps Up in Connecticut

Trout fishing.

With warmer weather kicking in, Connecticut has stepped up efforts to stock trout in the state’s ponds and rivers, and state officials say they plan to stock roughly half a million trout this spring.

A CT Fisheries employee stocks a local river.

Officials with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) said winter treated the state’s Fisheries Division well this year, allowing them to stock more than 35,000 trout through the ice in lakes and ponds across the state.

Brown Trout

Now that spring is nearly here, officials are turning their attention to rivers and streams. Roughly 20,000 trout were stocked in Connecticut last week, with roughly 85 percent of them in the eastern part of the state.

Officials said they plan to stock roughly 500,000 trout between February and May. Brook trout, brown trout, rainbow trout, and tiger trout are all scheduled.

The majority of the trout will reportedly range between 10 to 12 inches, and more than 20 percent are larger than 12 inches.

Trout fishing is catch and release in Connecticut from March 1 until April 12 at 6 a.m. with the exception of trout management lakes, sea-run trout streams, and tidal waters.

The following rivers, brooks, and ponds were among those stocked last week.