2 Popular Tolland County Fishing Areas Get Holiday Stockings

TOLLAND COUNTY, CT — Two popular Tolland County fishing locations have been stocked with good-sized trout, state environmental officials said.

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection announced Monday a surprise "bonus fishery," stocking that put close to 500 lake trout in select waters around the state, including Bigelow Pond in Union and Coventry Lake.

The fish averaged between 24 and 36 inches in length, and weighed between 5 and 7 pounds, DEEP officials said.

These fish are "ready to catch," DEEP officials said.

"The intent in stocking them is strictly to provide Connecticut anglers with a specialty fishery, enhancing late season and winter fishing opportunities," DEEP officials said.

The fish come from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Berkshire National Fish Hatchery out of New Marlborough, MA.

Historically, lake Trout used to be reared by the state of Connecticut and stocked into a handful of lakes around the state. Stocking ceased in 1967 and was likely attributed to poor survival in the wild, DEEP officials said.

The current harvest state record dates back to 1918, for a fish caught out of Lake Wononskopomuc that weighed 29 pounds, 13 ounces.

The standard statewide regulation of five trout per day applies to the recent stocking.