Connecticut Fishing Report
It is, in a word, brisk outside. The only active anglers are the few who are still hunting down ice-free trout streams, and those who are ice fishing.
After last weekend’s arctic blast, which dumped plenty of snow on southern New England, temps have remained well below freezing. Holdover stripers will have to wait for now, unless the coves and tribs of the mighty Connecticut River are frozen solid enough to fish them through the ice. Best to wait a couple more days before giving that a try.
For now, hitting the ice for bass, pike, pickerel, panfish, and other desirables will be the best bet for a fish. Call your tackle shops in advance to check their hours and inquire about bait availability. This weekend will be another extremely cold one, so be cautious, be aware of your surroundings, and be sure to tag @onthewatermagazine on Instagram for a chance to have your photo featured in an upcoming fishing report.
UPDATE: 1/22/2026
After yet another week of back and forth weather featuring snow and frigid temps followed by a mild melt-off today, fishing opportunities in Connecticut remained status quo. Matt Stone at Black Hall Outfitters in Westbrook said that most inland lakes and ponds have some fishable ice, but anglers are still encouraged to exercise extreme caution until temperatures drop again. He mentioned that over the past couple of days there were some anglers out on local ice, and while it’s likely unsafe at the time of this writing due to 40-degree temps, those same waters will certainly have ice by the end of this weekend. There’s a solid 10-day stretch of sub-freezing weather ahead, which bodes well for ice fishing on lakes and ponds closer to the coast.
Ice fishing aside, die-hard striper fishermen are quietly picking away at holdovers in the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers (for now). And according to John Sargent at The Compleat Angler in Darien, the trout streams are experiencing lower-than-average flows, but some folks are still finding tiger trout in the Mianus on streamers and small jerkbaits. Fishing the streams while it snows can be challenging due to slushy conditions, he added, but if it’s possible to get out on Sunday and Monday, brown trout could be fired up.
If you haven’t been ice fishing yet this season, the next week or so looks like prime time to get out and give it a try as temperatures dip into the teens and single digits.
Stay safe and stay warm out there.
UPDATE: 1/15/2026
Temperatures have been up and down throughout the week, which has anglers closer to the coast heading further inland and north to find safe ice. Where safe ice is available, fishing has been good for the typical freshwater species like pickerel, largemouth bass, and panfish.
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Meanwhile, with the melting of skim ice on the major rivers, catch and release fishing for holdover striped bass is on the table once again. The bite is typically best after a few days of mild weather has warmed up the water temperatures. Small minnow plugs, like the 13F and 15F SP Minnows and 5/8-ounce or 1-ounce Mag Darters, are great choices when the fish are more active during a warmup. In colder conditions, 4- to 6-inch soft plastics like Slug-gos and NLBN paddletails on 3/4- to 1-ounce jigheads are the right baits to reach for. Fish them low and super slow in stretches with slow-moving current.
Trout streams like the Farmington River continue to fish well after some rain and ice melt, which bodes well for the bite moving forward. Captain Joe Diorio has been guiding winter trout fishing trips, and the browns are chewing hard for his clients. Give him a call to book a date if you want to get in on the action.
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The mild weather was nice, but with overnight temps dipping back into the teens and 20s over the next week, keep your ice fishing gear ready to go. Open water will be very hard to come by unless you are fishing moving water, like the trout streams or rivers for resident striped bass.
UPDATE: 1/8/2026
While ice fishing season continued to the north, safe ice finally took hold along the Connecticut coast thanks to well-below-freezing temps over the weekend. Those who have been itching to fish jumped at the chance to drill a few holes and enjoy a short-lived window on the hardwater. For a few days, fishermen in southern Connecticut enjoyed pulling chain pickerel, largemouth bass, trout, crappie, and perch through the ice, but it didn’t last long.
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Rain and a few days of mild temps have led many of those recently-frozen waters to thaw out, and it seems that we may have open water for nearly a week before the ponds begin to lock up again. Take advantage of the lack of ice during this stretch of unseasonably warm weather by bundling up and strapping up the waders to cast for largemouth and smallmouth bass, chain pickerel, pike, panfish, and trout and holdover stripers. The trout streams should be fishing very well amid improved flows from the combined rain and snowmelt, and resident striped bass in the rivers will be more likely to chew in these mild conditions.
Enjoy the open water while it lasts. By this time next week, overnight temps will be dipping back into the low 20s and teens, and ice fishing will once again be feasible.
1/1/2026
With the 2025 season in the rearview, many anglers will use the winter months to review how their fishing season unfolded. That might mean skimming through your surf fishing log to look for striper patterns, or reminiscing on hot bites (and missed bites) during the albie season; but the only good that comes from looking back is how you’ll use that information to your advantage moving forward. The 2026 fishing season doesn’t start in April, it starts now. For some, the season begins with having reels serviced, replacing rusted terminal tackle, and surveying the ever-growing arsenal of striper plugs to plan for replacement purchases at winter fishing shows. But, try as we might, many of us can’t just hang up our gear until the spring tautog season opens in Long Island Sound. Thankfully, winter fishing opportunities abound in Connecticut, even if angler participation is at its lowest point during the calendar year.
Saltwater fishing opportunities are slim to none right now, as many late-season party boat operations like the Black Hawk in Niantic have ended their seasons now that sea bass and porgy fishing is closed. The only salty options left are holdover striped bass and maybe a few sea herring kicking around in your local harbor. The former tends to attract a cohort of die-hard, all-weather fishermen who fight off cabin fever from the banks of Connecticut’s rivers and salt ponds.
Resident stripers have piled into the Connecticut and Housatonic rivers and anglers have wasted no time staking out their favorite holdover spots. Compared to recent years, the winter striper bite has been good, not great. The general consensus among those who have flocked to the rivers since the stripers left their home waters is that the fish are picky, which is likely due to excessive fishing pressure.
It’s no secret that these major tributaries of the Long Island Sound are home to striped bass year-round, but there are certain areas that produce better numbers and quality, and they’re kept secretive for a reason. Consider sharing your techniques and productive baits, not your hard-earned spots, with fellow holdover enthusiasts to mitigate some of that fishing pressure. The fish are already lethargic in cold water, and they’ll only get pickier as the winter wears on. However, despite the wary and finicky nature of winter stripers, some anglers, like photographer and videographer Shane McLellan, were able to end the year on a high note. Shane caught and released a beautiful holdover this week (pictured below) on a Slug-go after putting in many hours on foot instead of in his kayak.
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Soft plastics like Slug-gos, rigged on lightweight jigheads around 3/4-ounce, are proven to tempt holdover stripers throughout the winter months. Their productivity is less about matching any present forage and more about reaching the strike zone to present an appetizing profile. Minnow plugs like SP Minnows and Mag Darters are also excellent winter baits, and they can be customized with Storm SuspenStrips to neutralize their buoyancy, which leads to a similar presentation to a suspending jerkbait. Load up a tackle tray with an array of 4- to 6-inch soft plastics and jigheads, and a handful of minnow-style plugs in the same size range, and you’ll be well on your way to striper fishing in the rivers. Look for areas like bottlenecks and points where there are pockets of deep, moving water, to boost your chances. If the river is loaded with chunks of floating ice or the banks are lined with hard, stagnant ice, consider moving. You can even head way downstream, closer to salt water, where white perch fishing is also an option.
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Like stripers, white perch school heavily and can be difficult to locate, but they populate the brackish rivers, marshes, and salt ponds throughout the winter. Plus, they taste great, they’re strong fighters on an ultralight spinning setup or 5-weight fly rod, and the season is open year-round. Regulations allow a maximum of 30 fish per angler per day at a minimum size of 7 inches. White perch can be caught using micro soft plastics like paddletails and curly-tail grubs, as well as underspins, hair jigs, spoons, and grass shrimp (if you can get your hands on some) on a high-low rig.
Anglers can also explore the recently-stocked rivers, like the Naugatuck and Shetucket, in search of trout and salmon on the fly, and, depending on which stream/river, with inline spinners, small hair jigs, and lightweight spoons. Guided trips are also available from charters/guides like Joe Diorio Guide Service. Joe has been fishing the Farmington River with centerpins and floats and this season, he said, has been nothing short of amazing. They’ve been finding the best results with Pautzke Natural Deluxe Singles, pink worms, as well blue and white egg sacs. An average day, he said, has consisted of 30 to 40 trout with a few between 19 and 21 inches. He’ll be running trips all winter, so head to Joe’s website for contact info and give him a call to book a guided trip while the fishing is good! And if you want to go it alone, remember to check the river and stream regulations, as many TMAs require single barbless hooks for flies and artificial lures.
After a few more days of overnight temperatures in the 20s and teens, coastal Connecticut should begin to see safe ice on lakes and ponds. Right now, most water bodies are covered by skim ice. Meanwhile, anglers in northern Connecticut have already started ice fishing, and western Massachusetts is several weeks into their ice fishing season. Prep your tip-ups and jigging rods now, and reach out to your local tackle shop in advance of your outing to secure bait. Many shops are on holiday or winter hours, and there’s nothing worse than scrambling for shiners, nightcrawlers, or waxworms on the day of an ice fishing trip.
Connecticut Fishing Forecast
For the time being, holdover stripers and trout are the best chances for a bent rod. Start off the new year on a high note and get out on the rivers or one of the many stocked trout streams for some fun. Moving water is a Northeast angler’s best friend until ice fishing season is in full swing.
We’ll be running monthly fishing reports and brief, weekly updates for Connecticut until the first week of April. If you have a catch or a fishing report you’d like to share in the meantime, tag us on Instagram @onthewatermagazine or send pics and reports to our Assistant Editor, Matt Haeffner, via Instagram @matthaeffner.
Fingers crossed for some safe ice this week! Be safe, stay warm, and have a Happy New Year!