HARTFORD, Conn. (WTIC Radio)—Connecticut anglers will have a chance for some late season winter fishing with a recent stocking of close to 500 Lake Trout across select lakes and ponds in the state.
The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) stocked 490 ready-to-catch fish last week in Bigelow Pond, Coventry Lake, Squantz Pond, Tyler Lake and Winchester Lake.
According to DEEP officials, the surprise bonus fishery is intended strictly to provide anglers in the state with a specialty fishery to enhance winter fishing opportunities.
"There is no expectation that these fish will holdover for an extended period of time (years) or that they will reproduce," officials said in a statement.
The fish range between 24 to 36 inches in length and they weigh between 5 to 7 pounds. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service's Berkshire National Fish Hatchery out of New Marlborough, Massachusetts donated the fish to the state. The hatchery raises Lake Trout for restoration efforts in the Lower Great Lakes.
There will be no special rules or regulations applied to this specialty stocking, officials said, so the statewide standard regulation of five trout per day will apply to all stocked Lake Trout.
The exception is in Squantz Pond during the month of March when there is a 16" minimum length daily creel limit of one trout, officials said.
These stocked trout won't break the state record in the harvest category (the largest fish by weight) but officials said they should provide the possibility of filling the state record in the "Catch & Release" category (the largest fish by length) which was created this year. More information on the Trophy Fish Award program can be found here.
DEEP officials remind those that go out fishing to practice social distancing while on a fishing trip.
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