Connecticut River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Connecticut River, as the state words them
Hartford County · River · CT
Today's rule hereParsed
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Gear
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Bait
- Any fish legally acquired, except largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, northern pike, trout, salmon, carp and goldfish may be used as baitStatewide
- Poles
- No more than three lines, with or without rods, may be used at one timeStatewide
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
Striped Bass | See size | min. slot of 28 inches to 31 inches; any striped bass less than 28 inches or greater than or equal to 31 inches must be released without avoidable injury | Statewide |
Lake Trout | See size | min. 20 inches | Statewide |
Trout | 2 | min. 15 inch minimum length | This water |
Atlantic salmon | set annually by Commissioner's Declaration | - | Statewide |
Northern pike | 2 | min. 24 inch minimum length | This water |
Common Carp | 1 | min. 26 inch maximum length | This water |
The official text, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from CT's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- American ShadOpen year-roundDaily limit 6Size No minimum lengthGear Angling
- Largemouth Bass and Smallmouth BassOpen year-roundDaily limit 6Size 12"Gear Angling, Ice FishingBass Management lakes have different regulations than listed here; check the Lake and Pond regulation page by waterbody.
- Large and smallmouth bassDaily limit 6Size 12 inch minimum length
- TroutDaily limit 2Size 15 inch minimum length
- Northern pikeDaily limit 2Size 24 inch minimum length
- Alewives/Blueback HerringSpecial closures in effect.
- Common CarpDaily limit 1Size 26 inch maximum length
- All fishDaily limit 12, not more than 3 of which can be greater than 30 inchesGear bow and arrow
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this stretch begins and ends
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
Different sections of this water can have different rules. The exact section boundaries are not marked on the map yet; each rule above describes in plain words where it starts and ends, and that written description is the authoritative boundary. Map boundaries come water by water, never as a guess.
Season at a glanceDerived
Sampled mid-month from the dated rows; short windows can slip between samples. The rows above are authoritative.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 26,700 cfs at connecticut river at middle haddam, ct (2026-07-29 04:45)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Connecticut River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
Receipts
Local services near Connecticut River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Connecticut River? Get listed.