New England
Fly fishing in Connecticut
Short answer
Connecticut fly fishing centres on two rivers: the Farmington, a cold tailwater holding wild brown trout, and the Housatonic, a bigger freestone with a long fly-fishing-only stretch. A licence is required from age 16, and a Trout and Salmon Stamp is needed to fish the managed trout water even if you release everything.
What makes Connecticut different
The West Branch of the Farmington is the reason anglers drive to Connecticut. Cold water released from Hogback Dam keeps the river in the fifties through a New England summer, and the result is a wild, self-sustaining brown trout population in a river you can reach from Manhattan in two hours and fish in any month of the year. It is heavily managed and heavily fished, and it rewards people who treat it as a technical river rather than a stocked one. The Housatonic is the counterweight: bigger, warmer, freestone, with a long fly-fishing-only stretch and a summer caveat — it gets too warm for trout in July and August, and the right answer then is smallmouth. One point of licensing to get right: the Trout and Salmon Stamp is required to fish a Trout Management Area at all, not merely to keep a fish, and the Farmington is one.
What trout and other fish are in Connecticut?
- Brown trout
- Wild and self-sustaining in the West Branch Farmington. The main quarry and a properly difficult one.
- Rainbow trout
- Stocked widely, with holdover fish in both main rivers.
- Brook trout
- Native, in small cold tributaries and the northwest hills.
- Smallmouth bass
- The Housatonic in summer, when it is too warm for trout.
- Atlantic salmon
- Broodstock fish released into a few waters each autumn, under their own rules.
Where to fly fish in Connecticut
- West Branch Farmington
- Below Hogback Dam. Cold all summer, wild browns, and year-round catch and release in the permanent TMA.
- Farmington River — Hartland to Unionville
- A seasonal Trout Management Area: harvest in season, catch and release the rest of the year.
- Housatonic River
- Big freestone water with a long fly-fishing-only stretch. Too warm for trout in high summer.
- Salmon River
- A Trout Management Area in the east of the state, and broodstock salmon water in autumn.
- Mill River
- Small northwest hill water, and a good place to find a wild brook trout.
- Natchaug River
- Eastern Connecticut, stocked, and quieter than the famous two.
When to fly fish in Connecticut
| When | What is happening |
|---|---|
| January – March | The Farmington fishes all winter. Midges, small nymphs, and the water never freezes below the dam. |
| April | Hendricksons, and the general harvest season opening in mid-month on most waters. |
| May – June | The best weeks anywhere in the state. Caddis, sulphurs, and long evenings on the Farmington. |
| July – August | The Farmington holds up because of the dam. The Housatonic does not — switch to smallmouth there. |
| September – December | Baetis and isonychia, broodstock salmon stocked in autumn, and the Farmington quiet again. |
Do you need a license to fly fish in Connecticut?
Yes. Licenses are issued by Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
| License | Price |
|---|---|
| Resident, annual | $33 |
| Non-resident, annual | $60 |
The totals are the inland fishing licence plus the Trout and Salmon Stamp — $28 and $5 for residents aged 18 to 64, $55 and $5 for non-residents. Residents 65 and over fish free with annual renewal. Licences expire on 31 December. Prices change — check with the agency before you buy.
Rules worth knowing before you go
- An inland fishing licence is required from age 16.
- A Trout and Salmon Stamp is required for anyone 16 or over who keeps trout or salmon, OR who fishes in a Trout Management Area, Wild Trout Management Area, Trout Park or Atlantic Salmon Management Area — including catch and release. The Farmington is a TMA.
- Licences run the calendar year and expire on 31 December, rather than running a year from purchase.
- Trout Management Areas differ: the West Branch Farmington is year-round catch and release, while the stretch from Hartland to Unionville allows harvest in season.
- Rules are set water by water and the posted signs at the access points are the shortest way to check.
Regulations change every year and vary water by water. The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection rule book is the only authority — this page is a starting point, not a legal reference.
Flies that matter in Connecticut
Each of these is a card in the deck, and each has a full page in Our Fly-brary.
Keep reading
- Do I need a fishing license? — how licensing works across states
- How to read water — where trout hold, anywhere
- Best time of day to fly fish — the seasonal logic behind the table above
- Our Fly-brary — every fly in the deck, explained
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The deck
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