Freshwater · Saltwater Fish of Connecticut
Sea-Run Brown Trout
Salmo trutta (anadromous form)
Also called: Sea-run Trout, Sea-Run Brown, Sea Trout, Searun Brown Trout
Identification
Built like a brown trout but silvery. Fresh from salt water they look almost like a salmon: bright silver flanks, black X- and star-shaped spots on the upper body, few or no red spots, and a squarish tail. The longer they stay in fresh water the more brown, gold and red color returns.
Habitat
Brown trout that leave their home stream as young fish, feed and grow in Long Island Sound, then come back up the same coastal streams. In Connecticut they show up in the tidal and lower freshwater reaches of coastal rivers. CT DEEP manages five designated Sea-Run Trout Streams: Farm River (Branford, below I-95), Hammonasset River (Madison, below the breached dam above River Road), Latimer Brook and Oil Mill Brook (Waterford–East Lyme, below I-95) and the Saugatuck River (Westport, tidal area below Wood Dam).
Behavior
Very different from a stream brown. At sea they feed hard on baitfish (silversides, sand eels, killifish) and grass shrimp, grow fast and often run 2–10 lb. They move with the tides and are most active at night, at dawn and dusk, and in low light. Fish move into the tidal rivers mainly in spring and again in fall, holding in deeper holes, along undercut banks and at the head of tide, then drop back to the estuary. They are spooky in clear, shallow water.
How to Catch
Fish the tidal water at low light — night, dawn and dusk — especially on the falling tide, when bait gets flushed out of the marsh and river. Swing streamers (Clouser and Deceiver-style silversides patterns, olive/white or black at night) or cast small swimming plugs, minnow plugs and spoons in silver, white and olive. Live killifish (mummichogs) or grass shrimp drifted with the current also work where bait is allowed. Fish the mouth of the river, channel edges, deeper holes and the transition where fresh and salt water meet. Use light, long leaders in clear water.
Notes
Special regulations apply at the designated Sea-Run Trout Streams (CT DEEP lists 2 trout per day, 15-inch minimum length, open all year — always confirm in the current CT Fishing Guide). Connecticut state record: 10.5 lb, Saugatuck River, 2006 (Ron Merly). Report sea-run catches to CT DEEP Fisheries; returns are rare and help the stocking program.
Where to find Sea-Run Brown Trout in CT
- Hammonasset River Madison
- Thames River Norwich
- Yantic River Bozrah