What fish are in the Connecticut River?


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The Upper Connecticut River holds native brook trout, rainbow trout, landlocked salmon, and large brown trout. Landlocked salmon make their way into the river during spring spawning runs of baitfish and during their fall spawn.

Where are the stripers in CT?

In Connecticut, striped bass are seasonally found along the entire coastline and in all large tidal rivers, where they are typically common to abundant. Most fish migrate south during winter, but some overwinter in Connecticut, most notably in the Thames River.

How far up the CT river do stripers go?

Stripers can be found throughout the 50 mile stretch of river from Hartford to the river’s mouth in Old Saybrook.

Where is the best freshwater fishing in Connecticut?

  • Quinnipiac River (South Meriden)
  • Connecticut River (Middletown to Hartford)
  • Lake McDonough (Barkhamsted)
  • Squantz Pond State Park (New Fairfield)
  • Satan’s Kingdom (New Hartford)
  • Stratton Brook State Park (Simsbury)

What depth do stripers swim?

Learn how to effectively target striped bass in depths from 60 to 100 feet, and you’ll be able to catch them during the middle of the day, even in the heart of summer.

What is the best bait for catching striped bass?

Bloodworms and Sandworms as Striped Bass Baits Bloodworms and sandworms are highly effective striper baits just about everywhere these fish are found, virtually any time of the year. Stripers love eating them, period.

Are there sturgeon in CT river?

Although the Connecticut River shortnose sturgeon population is small (estimated at fewer than 1,600 individuals), it appears relatively stable and may have increased over the past 30 years. Sturgeons are very long-lived (max. age over 60 years), slow-growing fishes, and depleted populations are slow to recover.

How many crappie can you keep in CT?

The daily limit for black crappie, white perch, yellow perch and sunfish is 25 fish for each species. The daily aggregate possession limit is 50 fish for all listed species, including horned pout.

How do you catch a carp in the Connecticut River?

YouTube video

How do you catch stripers in CT river?

YouTube video

Where is the best place to fish for stripers?

If you want to catch large striped bass, go to Cape Cod. More 70 pound-plus stripers have been caught on and around Cape Cod than any other place. Cape Cod’s beaches are considered the best in the world, and include the Cape Cod National Seashore.

How do you catch striped bass in CT?

Check Connecticut fishing reports for current striper information. And for the ultimate thrill try large topwater baits if you see any surface feeding action. When the stripers are deep, jigs and jigging spoons work well. Live and cut bait will also take striped bass when they are in medium to deeper water.

Where is the best bass fishing in CT?

  • 1) Candlewood Lake.
  • 2) Lake Lillinonah.
  • 3) Connecticut River.
  • 4) Highland Lake.
  • 5) Lake Waramaug.

How do you fish in the Connecticut River?

Some good choices for the Connecticut River include a nightcrawler and bobber rig, inline spinners, small soft plastic tube baits or spider jigs that imitate crayfish, lipped crankbaits, paddle tail swimbaits and stickbaits, among others.

What kind of fish are in the Quinnipiac river?

Largemouth bass can be found in the river from just above Red Bridge down to Hanover Pond and within the pond itself. Carp are plentiful downstream from Hanover Dam. North Haven: an occasional striper might be found as well as white perch.

What month is best for striper fishing?

Striped Bass will start to move into the Red and Washita Rivers to spawn. April can be the best live-bait fishing month, but swimbaits and underspins will catch Striper too. Striper will school up around these river channels to feed, then run upstream to spawn.

What is the best time to go striper fishing?

The best time of day to catch striped bass is early morning from dawn until about 2 hours after sunrise and late afternoon from 2 hours before sunset until dusk. Fishing for striped bass can be even better in the hours before a major cold front or rain event arrives.

Do striped bass feed on the bottom?

Fishermen dream of big stripers smashing up the surface to eat a topwater plug, but the biggest bass do the vast majority of feeding on the bottom. There, stripers find large, slow-moving meals like lobsters, crabs, tautog, and flounder.

What color lures do stripers like?

A study performed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences showed that striped bass see yellow and chartreuse better than other colors as they are smack dab in the middle of the striped bass’s visual range.

What pound test should I use for striped bass?

The Solution. Line matters and Captain Mike recommends sticking with 10-pound or 12-pound test. Plus, it makes catching striped bass a lot more fun.

What lures do stripers bite on?

  • Spro bucktail jig.
  • Kastmaster spoon.
  • Rapala X-Rap Extreme Action Slashbait.
  • Atom Popper.
  • Gulp.
  • Diamond jig.
  • Bunker spoon.

Where can I catch Bowfin in CT?

The only known populations in Connecticut are in Scoville Reservoir (Wolcott) and the Connecticut River, where they can be locally common in abundance.

What do shortnose sturgeon eat?

Shortnose sturgeon use their four barbels to search for food in the sandy, muddy bottom of rivers. They use a vacuum-like mouth to suck up a variety of prey from the substrate, typically invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, worms, and mollusks.

How big is an Atlantic sturgeon?

The Atlantic sturgeon is a large fish that can reach a length of 14 feet (4.3 meters), a weight of over 800 pounds (363 kilograms), and possess strength to leap nine feet (2.7 meters) into the air.

What is the cleanest lake in Connecticut?

  • Lake Lillinonah has an impressive 14 miles of shoreline and sits in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties.
  • As you walk along its peaceful shores, you’ll hardly notice it’s a man-made lake.

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