Inland Waterway In Shelton Subject To New Connecticut Trout Regulations

SHELTON, CT — Indian Hole Brook in Shelton will be affected by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's new Inland sportfish regulations focused on "conserving wild brook trout."

The Connecticut DEEP announced Wednesday in a news release that sportfishing regulations for the Inland District will be updated Jan. 1, 2026.

"Most notably, the updated regulations provide additional protections for declining populations of brook trout, the only species of trout native to Connecticut.," DEEP officials said in a news release. "Decades of monitoring by DEEP biologists shows a clear trend of reduced range and abundance of brook trout in the state."

Brook trout require cold water to survive and flourish, meaning they are "particularly susceptible to the impacts of our warming climate," DEEP officials noted.

"The brook trout is an iconic New England fish that is losing ground here in Connecticut," DEEP commissioner Katie Dykes said in a news release. "DEEP is pleased that our state’s fishing community broadly supported new fishing rules that will provide additional protections for this special fish. We all have a role to play in ensuring that future generations of Connecticut residents and visitors will have access to healthy streams and fish populations."

DEEP is designating 22 inland waterways (or portions of them) as Class 1 Wild Trout Management Areas.

Wild brook trout populations in these areas now will be protected by year-round catch-and-release-only regulations and a requirement that anglers use only artificial lures or flies with a single barbless hook.

They are:

• Beaver Brook in Barkhamsted
• Belden Brook in Granby
• Bonemill Brook in Tolland and Ellington
• Cold Brook and tributaries in Glastonbury
• Green Falls River in North Stonington
• Gulf Stream and tributaries in Somers
• Hall Meadow Brook in Norfolk
• Thorne Brook and tributaries in Hartland
• Hurricane Brook in Hartland
• Indian Hole Brook in Shelton
• Jericho Brook in Thomaston
• Lowden Brook in Voluntown
• Mohawk Pond Outflow in Goshen
• Morgan Brook in Barkhamsted
• Pease Brook in Bozrah
• Railroad Brook in Vernon
• Sages Ravine Brook in Salisbury
• Spruce Brook and tributaries in Litchfield
• Stony Brook in Montville
• Stratton Brook in Simsbury
• West Branch Salmon Brook and tributaries in Hartland
• Willow Brook and tributaries in Hamden and Cheshire

"DEEP's new trout regulations will provide enhanced protections for wild brook trout while also simplifying statewide trout fishing regulations," Pete Aarrestad, director of the DEEP Fisheries Division, said in a news release. "These changes reflect DEEP’s commitment to managing our state’s natural resources for resilience to climate change and providing high quality and accessible outdoor recreation opportunities."

Elsewhere in the state, effective Jan. 1, only trout 9 inches or longer can be kept in waters open to trout harvest in the state, except where a more restrictive length limit is already in place. There has not been a default statewide minimum length limit for trout since 1953, when it was 6 inches, DEEP officials said.

"The new default 9-inch minimum length limit for trout will be highly protective of wild brook trout in the streams where they are found, as most wild brook trout in Connecticut are less than nine inches in length," DEEP officials said in a news release.

The DEEP stocks hatchery-raised brook trout in many waters, and nearly all the fish are greater than 9 inches in length, thus providing opportunities for brook trout harvest.

Chris Dehnel, Patch Staff contributed to this report.