Fishing report: Anglers being iced

Not much to report this time around. Ice is the game as there is not a whole lot of open water in the state right now. Shelf ice is prevalent along the banks of many streams if they are not frozen over. The Housy is running around 700 but the water is very cold and the fish are in their dormant cycle. The Farmington is slushy unless you are up in Riverton. Much of the Naugatuck River is frozen over or slushy making Altlantic salmon fishing very difficult. If you are fishing along the ice shelves, be careful! It is difficult to land fish unless you are right near the edge and this is where the ice is thinnest.

Connecticut is blessed with many fishing opportunities as well as excellent fisheries management. Pending as of this writing are a new state record for walleye, which was hauled through the ice with the fish weighing more than 15 pounds, as well a pending world ice fishing record for carp, which was pulled through a hole on the lower Housatonic River.

The state record for brown trout may have been broken this year as well. If it was, it was broken by a hatchery raised breeder. The state released a lot of large breeder seeforellen brown trout up to 25 pounds into some of our lakes this past fall which has caused much controversy. The issue being that the current state record, although a seeforellen, was stocked into the Saugatuck Reservoir at 8-12 inches long and learned to survive and grew to the more than 18 pounds that it was when Tony Urbanawiecz pulled it out of the res. The current fish was a hatchery raised fish which was used to being fed in a tank; Big difference. Anyway, Tight light lines for those who get out there. Looking forward to some warmer days myself.

– Ron Merly