Best Fishing Times in Connecticut This Week

Connecticut's fishing year turns on the trout opener on the second Saturday in April, spring shad runs up the Connecticut River, largemouth bass on nests in May and June, and yellow perch through the ice. Within any day, the first and last hour of light are the surest bite, best of all when a solunar window lands on them.

The table above shows the next 7 days for Old Saybrook, Torrington and Danbury, with each day's major and minor periods, sunrise and sunset, and a rating from Fair to Best. For your own spot, enter a ZIP on the best fishing times page.

The catch and keep trout season opens each year on the second Saturday in April. That is from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

Shad run up all of Connecticut's major rivers in spring, with the largest run in the Connecticut River. That is from Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.

The Connecticut fishing license page has what a resident and nonresident license costs and where to buy one, read from the state's own regulations.

The Connecticut ice fishing page tracks when lakes freeze and what the agency says about safe ice. The solunar windows here work the same through the ice; winter tips favor mid to late afternoon.

The solunar windows are the old angler's rule, and the studies are mixed. Dawn and dusk are the reliable part: fish feed in low light. So each day here is rated on the moon phase and on whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, with the weather as a smaller nudge.

Each town's card above rates today Fair, Good, Great or Best. The rating adds up the moon phase, whether a moon window meets sunrise or sunset, and the National Weather Service forecast for that town: pressure, fronts, wind, rain, cloud and thunder. A Fair day still has its dawn and dusk.