Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) announced that the Trout & Salmon Stamp is available for purchase for the 2018 Fishing Season. The Trout & Salmon Stamp is now required for anglers fishing in any designated Trout Management Area, Wild Trout Management Area, Trout Park, or Atlantic Salmon Broodstock Area and for anglers harvesting trout or salmon anywhere throughout the state. The fees for the Trout & Salmon Stamp are $5.00 for resident anglers who are 18 and older, $3.00 for CT residents ages 16 or 17 and $5.00 for nonresident anglers age 16 and older.

“The new Trout and Salmon Stamp will help provide additional financial support for the DEEP Bureau of Natural Resources, which is responsible for overseeing important programs including the state’s three fish hatcheries,” said Bill Hyatt, Chief of the Bureau of Natural Resources. “Each year over 4.4 million fishing days are spent on the water by anglers across Connecticut, making it one of our most popular outdoor activities. Our fish hatcheries ensure that Connecticut anglers have an opportunity to experience excellent trout fishing throughout the state.”

DEEP operates three fish hatcheries in Burlington, Kensington and Plainfield. Currently five different trout and salmon species are raised at the hatcheries, including Atlantic Salmon, Kokanee Salmon, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, and Rainbow Trout. The staff at these hatcheries are responsible for annually hatching, rearing and distributing over one million adults, juveniles, fingerlings/fry and eggs in support of various fisheries management goals.

There are several exemptions from the requirements for a Trout & Salmon stamp. Holders of lifetime fishing licenses issued to persons that are blind, have an intellectual disability, or have certain physical disabilities are exempt from the requirement.  Additionally, those fishing waters that are not stocked by the state, but have been stocked by another entity such as a fish and game club pond or by a town or organization for a local fishing derby, do not need the Trout & Salmon Stamp.

The Trout & Salmon stamp can be obtained the same way licenses are, online at www.ct.gov/deep/fishing or www.ct.gov/deep/getmyfishinglicense, or in person at one of DEEP’s offices, a town hall that has opted to sell licenses, or at a number of other vendors. View a complete list of vendors on the DEEP website or call DEEP Licensing and Revenue (860-424-3105). There is no physical stamp; when a Trout & Salmon stamp is purchased, a line noting that you have obtained a stamp is added to your license document.  View the text of the Trout & Salmon stamp regulation and some FAQs.

DEEP also reminds anglers that a number of other new regulations have also just become effective. These new regulations can be found in the 2018 Connecticut Angler’s Guide, which will be available at the end of the month. The Guide can be found online at www.ct.gov/deep/anglersguide. Print versions of the guides will be available at more than 350 locations statewide or by contacting DEEP’s Inland Fisheries Division (860-424-FISH).