Community Corner

Hook Into a Catfish

DEP to stock catfish in area lakes.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has announced that 15,000 channel catfish will be stocked into eleven lakes and ponds located throughout the State.  The stocking is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 31 and marks the fifth year that the DEP has released catfish into state waters.  Included among the 11 lakes are five waters that are part of DEPs Community Fishing Program. 

“Stocking catfish in urban areas will provide excellent family recreation opportunities close to their home,” said DEP Commissioner Daniel C. Esty.  “The Community Fishing Program is another of our many efforts to promote fishing throughout the state and to provide everyone opportunities to enjoy the great outdoors.” 

Creating and enhancing community fisheries is part of a new program that began five years ago when the DEP stocked rainbow trout into Bunnells Pond in Bridgeport.  The program expanded to include Fulton Park Pond/Lakewood Lake (Waterbury), Keney Pond (Hartford), Lake Wintergreen (Hamden) and Mohegan Park Pond (Norwich). 

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The goal of DEP’s Community 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).  The Community Ponds will be stocked with large catfish weighing over two pounds each and measuring 14 – 18 inches in length.

In addition to the Community fishing 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 a much larger size.  “Before this program, the state’s only significant population of channel catfish was found in the Connecticut River.  Channel catfish have the potential to grow to true trophy-size proportions,” said Bill Hyatt, 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.” 

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“This DEP program establishes channel catfish in lakes where we know there is sufficient forage to support a population of large gamefish.  Interviewed fishermen have reported that some of the stocked catfish are getting large with 5-7 lb fish being taken from several of the lakes,” added Hyatt.  “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 Hyatt.

Nationally, 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.

Community Fishing Ponds (14-18” catfish)          Other Lakes & Ponds (9-12” catfish)

 Bunnells Pond (Bridgeport)                               Black Pond (Meriden, Middlefield)

Keney Park Pond (Hartford)                              Lower Bolton Lake (Bolton)

Mohegan Park Pond (Norwich)                        Maltby Lakes #2 and #3 (Orange, West Haven)

Lake Wintergreen (Hamden)                            Pattaconk Lake (Chester)

Lakewood Lake (Waterbury)                            Quonnipaug Lake (Guilford)

Silver Lake (Berlin, Meriden)


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