IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR ANGLERS:
Effective June 15th, 2009 or shortly thereafter*, a saltwater fishing license will be required to fish from shore or a private vessel in the marine waters of Connecticut.
The fee will be $10.00 for residents and $15.00 for non-residents. The license will be free for those residents age 65 and older, although they will have to renew annually. As with the freshwater license, those under 16 years of age do not need a license.
Anglers on a party/charter boat registered as such in CT will be exempt from the license requirement while fishing from the party/charter boat.
There are provisions for reciprocity with NY and the other northeast states. NY has also passed a saltwater license bill (includes reciprocity with CT for Long Island Sound) which becomes effective October 1, 2009, and RI currently has its own legislation pending.
Licenses can be purchased now, online at www.ct.gov/dep/fishing or at participating town halls, bait & tackle shops and DEP field offices, and by phone or in person from the DEP Store (860-424-3555). A complete list of vendors is available on the DEP website or from DEP Licensing & Revenue. For help using the online system, please contact DEP Licensing & Revenue (860-424-3105).
* The Marine Waters Fishing License bill (HB-5875) was passed by the state legislature with an effective date of June 15, 2009, and is being prepared for the Governor’s signature. Procedural details could cause a short delay in the bill becoming law.
MARINE FISHING REPORT
Water temperatures in Long Island Sound (LIS) are in the mid to high 50’s °F. Check out the following web sites for more detailed water temperatures and marine boating conditions:
http://www.mysound.uconn.edu/stationstat.html
http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_data/?nothumbs=1
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/AN/330.html
Remember to check the 2009 Connecticut Angler’s Guide for tidal information (page 52) and pages 49-51 for saltwater trophy fish award information.
STRIPED BASS
fishing remains good during dusk to dawn with fish greater than 40 inches being reported! Western LIS from Norwalk to Greenwich remains good for stripers. Drifting live bait (eels, bunker, scup), trolling the tube and worm combination, soft artificial baits, and trolling parachute jigs on wire have been very effective. Bunker (Atlantic menhaden) are throughout LIS especially in the tidal rivers. Striper spots include the Pawcatuck River, upper Thames River (Norwich Harbor down to Montville), the Race, Plum Gut, outer Bartlett Reef, Hatchett Reef, lower Connecticut River from Hamburg Cove down to the breakwaters, Long Sand Shoal, Cornfield Point, Southwest Reef, New Haven Harbor (Sandy Point), Bridgeport Harbor by the power plant warm water discharge (Breezy Point/Seaside Park), Housatonic River, Saugatuck River, the Norwalk Islands and the reefs off Stamford and Greenwich.
BLUEFISH
fishing is variable in eastern LIS and better in western portion of the sound where there is a more abundance of bunker. Blues have been ranging in size from 2 to 10 lbs. Chopper spots include the Race, Millstone Point (warm water outflow), Plum Gut, New Haven to Milford, Bridgeport Harbor, Norwalk Islands, and the reefs off Greenwich and Stamford.
HICKORY SHAD
fishing is good in the tidal rivers.
SCUP
are on the local reefs.
Effective June 15th, 2009 or shortly thereafter*, a saltwater fishing license will be required to fish from shore or a private vessel in the marine waters of Connecticut.
The fee will be $10.00 for residents and $15.00 for non-residents. The license will be free for those residents age 65 and older, although they will have to renew annually. As with the freshwater license, those under 16 years of age do not need a license.
Anglers on a party/charter boat registered as such in CT will be exempt from the license requirement while fishing from the party/charter boat.
There are provisions for reciprocity with NY and the other northeast states. NY has also passed a saltwater license bill (includes reciprocity with CT for Long Island Sound) which becomes effective October 1, 2009, and RI currently has its own legislation pending.
Licenses can be purchased now, online at www.ct.gov/dep/fishing or at participating town halls, bait & tackle shops and DEP field offices, and by phone or in person from the DEP Store (860-424-3555). A complete list of vendors is available on the DEP website or from DEP Licensing & Revenue. For help using the online system, please contact DEP Licensing & Revenue (860-424-3105).
* The Marine Waters Fishing License bill (HB-5875) was passed by the state legislature with an effective date of June 15, 2009, and is being prepared for the Governor’s signature. Procedural details could cause a short delay in the bill becoming law.
MARINE FISHING REPORT
Water temperatures in Long Island Sound (LIS) are in the mid to high 50’s °F. Check out the following web sites for more detailed water temperatures and marine boating conditions:
http://www.mysound.uconn.edu/stationstat.html
http://marine.rutgers.edu/mrs/sat_data/?nothumbs=1
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/
http://www.wunderground.com/MAR/AN/330.html
Remember to check the 2009 Connecticut Angler’s Guide for tidal information (page 52) and pages 49-51 for saltwater trophy fish award information.
STRIPED BASS
fishing remains good during dusk to dawn with fish greater than 40 inches being reported! Western LIS from Norwalk to Greenwich remains good for stripers. Drifting live bait (eels, bunker, scup), trolling the tube and worm combination, soft artificial baits, and trolling parachute jigs on wire have been very effective. Bunker (Atlantic menhaden) are throughout LIS especially in the tidal rivers. Striper spots include the Pawcatuck River, upper Thames River (Norwich Harbor down to Montville), the Race, Plum Gut, outer Bartlett Reef, Hatchett Reef, lower Connecticut River from Hamburg Cove down to the breakwaters, Long Sand Shoal, Cornfield Point, Southwest Reef, New Haven Harbor (Sandy Point), Bridgeport Harbor by the power plant warm water discharge (Breezy Point/Seaside Park), Housatonic River, Saugatuck River, the Norwalk Islands and the reefs off Stamford and Greenwich.
BLUEFISH
fishing is variable in eastern LIS and better in western portion of the sound where there is a more abundance of bunker. Blues have been ranging in size from 2 to 10 lbs. Chopper spots include the Race, Millstone Point (warm water outflow), Plum Gut, New Haven to Milford, Bridgeport Harbor, Norwalk Islands, and the reefs off Greenwich and Stamford.
HICKORY SHAD
fishing is good in the tidal rivers.
SCUP
are on the local reefs.