Let the fun begin!

[Kierran]

Very hard to tell by the photo, but I would assume it was a salmon of the broodstock variety that was released in the Naugatuck or Shetucket Rivers late last fall and eventually made its way downstream to where you caught it. If it was indeed wild, that's a very rare catch and should be reported to CT DEEP. Nicely done either way.

[JackK]

Does CT clip the adipose fins on their hatchery fish?

[Rappin Mikey]

To me it seemed the fins were in good condition and not all banged up from the tanks. It definitely could have come from the Naugatuck though. The stock ones I have seen always look a bit fatter in the pics I see. I have very little experience with these fish however, so I guess we will never know.

[rizzo]

They definitely lose the excess weight and look more like a bullet once theyre held over for a while. Its like they get in better shape. Fish that have been in the river for a while turn a brownish molted color, searuns just like steelhead are super chrome body with black top when they first arrive, then darken up. There are fish dropping back now too that have wintered over that are called dark/black salmon and are extremely weak from not feeding. That fish looked wicked chrome, so probably just arrived - I've got ones like that in early april that came from the ocean. I know the CT broodstocks in the river make it over the dams with heavy rains and go back to the ocean then return later.