Area anglers get new city site for fishing season
Urban community program expands department with Rogers Park
When the trout fishing season started Saturday, Danbury area anglers had a new option.
Rogers Park Pond in Danbury is the newest addition to the Community Fishing Waters, a state program that encourages fishing in urban areas.
With its inclusion, the program now includes 15 bodies of water in the state, although the new site is the only one in this area. The locations are stocked with fish by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
“We’re always looking to add water bodies in heavily populated areas,” said Brian Eltz, a DEEP fisheries biologist.
More than 315,000 brown, brook and rainbow trout have been stocked in nearly 100 lakes and ponds and 130 rivers and streams so far, including the 150 trout added to Rogers Park Pond. DEEP will stock again around the state through May, bringing the total to about 507,000 trout.
The department is starting to stock more after first pulling back in 2017 because of a drought, budgetary constraints and the burden on the hatcheries. At the time, 67 locations were dropped, and the amount stocked was pulled back at 150 locations.
Nearly half of those were in western Connecticut.
Eltz said the primary reason for the reduction was because the state hatcheries, where the salmon and trout are bred and raised, were being pushed too far in terms of demand.
He said DEEP made some upgrades and have since ticked production back up, though he said he doesn’t expect the numbers to be what they were. A few of the removed sites were also added back this year and last.
The state is also looking to increase the number of anglers, in part through the Community Fishing Waters program. It was created in 2005 with six locations.
Eltz said they recognized that they needed to do this by going into the urban areas, while still recognizing the traditional fishing sites.
“We get more bang for our buck,” he said.
There are about 185,000 licensed anglers in Connecticut, Eltz said. There were about 277,000 Connecticut anglers in 2011, according to a fishing and hunting report.
They know the program sites are now getting more anglers, but it hasn’t translated to an increase in sales, Eltz said.
The overall number of licensed anglers is down in the state, largely because a fishing license is free for anglers 65 and older.
This is not Danbury’s first time in the Community Fishing Waters program. Another Danbury site was in there years ago but was removed because it wasn’t performing well. Eltz has hopes for this one though because it was recommended for the program.
Ansonia joined the list of sites last year with Colony Pond. There are also sites in Bridgeport, Derby, Hamden, Middletown and New Haven.
DEEP officials encouraged families to come on opening day by stocking trout then. There are also 12 designated trout parks.
“Trout parks are easily accessible, have picnic areas and other amenities nearby, and are stocked frequently so that there are plenty of trout for children, families, and novice anglers to catch,” said Rick Jacobson, Chief of DEEP’s Bureau of Natural Resources. “We have found that these stocking events are a real highlight for many families.”
Fishing licenses and the
$5 Trout & Salmon Stamps can be purchased at DEEP’s website. They’re also available at DEEP’s offices, most town halls, tackle retailers and DEEP offices. For a complete list of fishing license vendors, visit the DEEP website at, www.ct.gov/deep/fishing, or call DEEP Licensing and Revenue at 860-4243105.