Catfish To Be Stocked In Connecticut
June 2, 2008
DEP Expands Urban Fishing Program into Waterbury
The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced that channel catfish will be stocked into eleven lakes and ponds located throughout the State. The stocking is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, June 3rd, and marks the second year that the DEP has released catfish into state waters. Included among the 11 lakes are five waters that are part of DEPs new Urban Fishing Program.
“Catfish are a favorite food fish and provide great fishing during the summer. With the recent spike in gasoline costs, providing good family fishing close to home meshes well with the DEP’s No Child Left Inside initiative,” said DEP Commissioner Gina McCarthy.
Creating and enhancing fisheries in urban waters is part of a new program that began two years ago when the DEP stocked rainbow trout into Bunnells Pond in Bridgeport. The program was expanded last year with the addition of Keney Pond (Hartford), Lake Wintergreen (Hamden) and Mohegan Park Pond (Norwich).
“We have further expanded our Urban Fishing program in 2008 to include the City of Waterbury. Trout were stocked in the spring into Fulton Park Pond and, for the first time ever, catfish will be stocked into Lakewood Lake” said Commissioner McCarthy.
The goal of DEP’s Urban Fishing Program is to create year-round fishing opportunities in urban waters by combining trout stocking (in the spring and fall) with catfish stocking (in late spring or early summer). “We’re bringing the fishing to the people,” said Commissioner McCarthy. The Urban Ponds will be stocked with large catfish weighing over two pounds each and measuring 14 – 18 inches in length.
In addition to the urban waters, six other Connecticut lakes will be stocked with smaller 9-12 inch catfish that are expected to survive for many years and grow to much larger size. “The State’s only significant population of channel catfish is found in the Connecticut River where they support a very popular fishery. Channel catfish have the potential to grow to true trophy-size proportions,” said Edward Parker, Chief of the Bureau of Natural Resources. The current Connecticut state record channel catfish weighed 29 lbs 6 oz and was caught in 2004 from Mashapaug Lake in Union while the world record is a 58 lb catfish taken in South Carolina.
“This new DEP program will establish channel catfish in lakes where we know there is sufficient forage to support a population of large gamefish,” explained Parker. The DEP believes that the combination of a popular gamefish stocked into waters that are selected based on scientific data is a winning combination. “We’ve had great success in using this approach to develop exciting fisheries for northern pike and walleye and now we’re looking forward to similar results with catfish,” said Parker.
ationally, catfish are the fourth most sought after type of fish according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Survey of Fishing, Hunting, and Wildlife-Associated Recreation. Catfish are also a favorite food fish and account for approximately half of the value of all aquaculture production in the United States.
Lakes and Ponds scheduled to be stocked with channel catfish
Urban Fishing Waters (14-18″ catfish)
Bunnells Pond (Bridgeport)
Keney Park Pond (Hartford)
Mohegan Park Pond (Norwich)
Lake Wintergreen (Hamden)
Lakewood Lake (Waterbury)
Other Lakes & Ponds (9-12″ catfish)
Black Pond (Meriden, Middlefield)
Lower Bolton Lake (Bolton)
Maltby Lakes #2 and #3 (Orange, West Haven)
Pattaconk Lake (Chester)
Quonnipaug Lake (Guilford)
Silver Lake (Berlin, Meriden)
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Become a Better Walleye Angler
May 5, 2008
KEENE, N.H. — Gabe Gries, Region 4 Fisheries Biologist II and Warmwater Project Leader for the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, has set his sights on becoming a better walleye fisherman and offers the following advice for New Hampshire anglers on pursuing this worthy gamefish.
Gries started working on his walleye strategy last year, buying a few walleye crankbaits and putting some time in on the Connecticut River when he could. He caught a few walleye last summer (and tons of smallmouth bass), but he is determined to reach the point where he can consistently catch walleye in spring, summer and fall.Â
“I spent a good part of this winter researching different walleye techniques, buying what tackle I could, and talking to walleye anglers,” said Gries. “Walleye can be a fickle fish, and combining that fact with the ever-changing Connecticut River presents a puzzle that could take a lifetime to figure out. Above all, what you need most is patience.”
Gries plans to start shore fishing just below the major dams this spring as early as river flows allow. “I’ll use mainly live bait (crawlers and shiners), in combination with a number of different jigs. Standup jigs tipped with a shiner or a 3-inch grub always produce well, as do many of your typical bass lures (crankbaits, Shad Raps, rattle traps, etc.).” Be sure to check the river flows and try to fish during moderate spring flows, he advises. As fish start to bite below the dams, also concentrate on the mouths of rivers and streams that flow into the Connecticut River. Walleye will often gather in these areas both during the pre-spawn and the spawning period.Â
After walleye spawn, they can be difficult to find for up to several weeks, but this is also a time when you can catch large numbers of spawned-out females, according to Gries. He recommends concentrating on areas that are 10-20 feet deep and adjacent to deeper water, using jigs tipped with live bait. Again, patience is the watchword.
From early summer to early fall, Gries will pursue walleye using his boat. He’ll start by trolling crankbaits such as Reef Runners and Shad Raps and also using a crawler harness combined with bottom bouncers to keep the night crawler near the bottom. Because walleye feed most efficiently at low light levels, fishing for them is most effective on overcast days and at dusk and dawn.Â
Gries will troll upstream, alternating among water depths until he finds fish. “Troll slowly for the most part, but also increase your speed at times, and let the fish tell you what speed they want the lures/bait trolled at,” he says. Alternate lures, lure colors and sizes, and bead color, blade size and color on your crawler harness until you find the ones the fish want on that particular day. If there is a good wind, you don’t have to troll and instead can just drift jigs or live bait. Focus on river mouths, drop-offs, bridge pilings and rock faces.
“Start fishing with smaller lures, then work your way up to larger-size lures as the summer progresses, in order to mimic the size of baitfish in the river as they grow,” says Gries. He plans to try using a “side planer board” this year, a device that allows you to get your bait/lure away from the boat as you troll, so that the motor doesn’t spook the walleye. When rainfall causes the water level in the river to rise, Gries recommends using jigs tipped with 3-4-inch plastic grubs or worms and casting to shallow water that contains structure such as weeds or downed trees.Â
Walleye tactics change a bit for the fall months. “Although I will still troll during fall, I mainly concentrate on vertically jigging Thumper and Whistler jigs tipped with plastic baits in sand flats, deep holes and drop-offs once water temp drops below 55 F,” Gries says. “When trolling in the fall months, I move as slowly as possible and use my largest lures.” Gries plans to fish at least until Thanksgiving, and beyond if the weather permits!Â
If you want to talk walleye fishing, contact Gabe Gries at (603) 352-9669 or gabe [dot] gries [at] wildlife [dot] nh [dot] gov
.
Current New Hampshire walleye regulations on the Connecticut River include a daily limit of four fish, of which only one can be larger than 18 inches; no fish between 16 and 18 inches may be harvested. These regulations were imposed to increase walleye size, after previous walleye creel surveys had documented an overabundance of shorter walleyes in the Connecticut River.
Continued efforts by the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department to effectively manage walleye populations in the Connecticut River include a 2008 spring angler survey below the Bellows Falls and Vernon Dams. Please visit
http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Fishing/fisheries_management/walleye_survey.html for details on this study.
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CT DEP Reminds Opening Day Anglers To Take Precautions To Prevent Spread Of “Didymo” Into Connecticut Waters
April 25, 2008
Highly invasive alga found last year in several popular trout streams in the Northeast, Anglers considered an important vector in spread of didymo.
With Opening Day of trout season this weekend, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reminding anglers and boaters to be on the lookout for the highly invasive freshwater alga Didymosphenia geminata, known as “didymo,” and to take precautions to prevents its spread into Connecticut waters.
In 2007, the presence of didymo was confirmed in the northern reaches of the Connecticut River (NH/VT), White River (VT), Batten Kill (NY/VT) and the East and West Branches of the Delaware River (NY/PA), all popular trout streams. These were the first official reports of didymo in the northeastern United States.
Didymo (commonly referred to as “rock snot”) is most frequently found in cold, relatively shallow streams and rivers having a rocky bottom, characteristics that are also typical of good trout habitat. During blooms, didymo can form thick mats of material that feel like wet wool and are typically gray, white and/or brown, but never green in color. These mats form on the bottoms of rivers and streams and can potentially smother aquatic plants, aquatic insects and mollusks, alter stream flow characteristics and fish habitat, and impact the food chain. Dense mats of didymo can also reduce the recreational and aesthetic value of the affected river.
Anglers may have contributed to the recent spread of didymo. The microscopic cells can cling to fishing gear, waders (felt soles can be especially problematic), boots and boats, and remain viable for months under even slightly moist conditions. Although didymo has not yet been found in CT, it has been found in near-by states. It is recommended that trout anglers, especially those who also fish streams outside Connecticut, practice CHECK, CLEAN, DRY procedures.
CHECK: Before leaving a river, stream or lake, remove all obvious clumps of algae and plant material from fishing gear, waders, clothing & footwear, canoes & kayaks, and anything else that has been in the water and look for hidden clumps. Leave them at the site. If you find any later, clean your gear and dispose of all material in the trash.
CLEAN: Soak/spray & scrub boats and all other “hard” items for at least one minute in either very hot (140°F) water, a 2% bleach solution, or a 5% dishwashing detergent solution. Absorbent materials such as clothes and felt soles on waders should be soaked for at least 40 minutes in very hot water (140°F), or 30 minutes in hot water (115°F) with 5% dishwashing detergent. Freezing thoroughly will also kill didymo.
DRY: If cleaning is not practical, after the item is completely dry to touch, wait an additional 48 hours before contact or use in any other waterway.
The above procedures will also be effective against other unwanted organisms.
Although didymo has not yet been found in Connecticut, DEP is taking additional precautions to prevent the introduction and/or spread of this and other invasive species. DEP’s Inland Fisheries Division is currently developing a formal “Biosecurity” policy for its field operations, with implementation to begin this upcoming field season. Also, as part of its outreach efforts on invasive species issues, DEP will be mailing an informational flier on didymo to many of the state’s bait & tackle shops this week.
An excellent source for information on didymo is the Biosecurity New Zealand web site www.biosecurity.govt.nz/didymo. Additional resources include the New Hampshire DES web site: www.des.state.nh.us/wmb/exoticspecies/didymo/index.html and the US EPA Region 8 website www.epa.gov/region8/water/didymosphenia/.
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