Three fishermen are facing heavy fines after CT Environmental Police fined them with a cooler filled to the top with carp. The creel limit for carp is one fish per angler with a minimum size of 26 inches, the cooler contained nearly three-dozen carp caught by the three men. Officers say they saw a very large carp ‘sticking out of the cooler’ when they arrived and found the men to be over the limit when upon further inspection.
In addition to the over-bagging, the three men were also fishing more rods than what is allowed by Connecticut State law and none of them held a valid fishing license. The officers were alerted to these violations thanks to a phone call from a concerned angler who observed the men keeping everything they caught.
The Connecticut River has been designated as a ‘trophy carp body of water’ and is known, among anglers that target these portly bottom feeders, as one of the best carp fisheries in the United States. Anglers regularly travel to the state’s namesake river to enjoy this world-class fishery.
The men were cited for over-the-limit catches, using more rods/reels than allowed by law and for not having a valid fishing license, their fines totaled more than $4200. The 32 carp were donated to a local rehabilitation center for injured mammals where various indigenous animals and birds of prey will consume the fish while they recover from injuries and illness.
If you observe fishing violations in Connecticut waters, call the DEEP “T.I.P.” (Turn In Poachers) line at 1-800-424-HELP.
