Flooding won't wash out trout season

bigoutdoors

Flooding won't wash out trout season
Ken Dixon, STAFF WRITER
Published: 10:26 p.m., Wednesday, March 31, 2010

HARTFORD -- Because of the anticipated flooding of Connecticut's rivers and streams, the state Department of Environmental Protection this year shifted around its trout-stocking schedule to limit losses.

Unlike flooding in 2007, which swept away thousands of fish in the days just before the mid-April start of the trout season, this year's high water is more than two weeks in advance of the season's opening day on April 17.

Bob Orciari, a DEP fishery biologist in the agency's Harwinton office, said Wednesday that ponds and lakes have gotten the bulk of deliveries from the state's three hatcheries.

Rivers and streams will get their share of the 400,000 catchable fish -- 9 inches or longer -- as the recent floodwaters subside over the next couple of weeks.

"The way that we adjusted our schedule and the way high water rose gradually, it's going to have a minimal effect on fishing, especially in Fairfield County," Orciari said.

Teams from the hatcheries focused on stocking ponds and lakes this week and will move to the streams and rivers by the middle of next week, then finally larger

rivers.

Southwestern Connecticut's rolling hills, creating streams with gentler gradients, should not lose too many fish. "They tend to have riffles and pools," he said, not steep stretches where floods could sweep them away.

"What typically happens during an extended rainfall is that fish that have been in the stream for a couple days get accustomed and they find rocks and logjams and move there as water levels rise."

Orciari said that in the western half of the state, about 117,600 brook, brown, tiger and rainbow trout have been trucked and poured into their new homes.

In all, about 190,000 fish will be delivered to western Connecticut water bodies prior to opening day. Statewide, another 320,000 will be stocked after opening day and into the fall, for a total stocking of 720,000 dinner-sized trout.

Fish will be trucked to 103 lakes and ponds and 200 rivers and streams by opening day, including 63,600 brook trout, 200,000 brown trout, 8,000 tiger trout hybrids, 115,000 rainbows and 2,800 surplus broodstock.

Southwestern Connecticut ponds that were moved up in the stocking schedule include Bunnell's Pond in Bridgeport and Great Hollow Pond in Monroe.

"I anticipate that all Fairfield County streams and ponds will be stocked with normal numbers of trout by opening day," Orciari said. "Separate from the flooding issue, we have added a second preseason stocking just before opening day at three Fairfield County trout management areas."

Those include the Mianus River in Stamford, the Saugatuck River fly area in Westport and the Mill River in Fairfield.

As many as 200,000 people are expected to dip lines on opening day. Those over 65 are eligible for free licenses