Connecticut

A small state with one of the best trout tailwaters in the Northeast.

Connecticut is not a destination trout state by reputation — but it holds one of the most important wild brown trout tailwaters east of the Mississippi: the West Branch of the Farmington.

Decades of CT DEEP wild-trout management, cold bottom-draw releases, and the Permanent Trout Management Area regulations have produced a self-sustaining wild brown trout population in a heavily populated state. It is a working example of what's possible when cold-water release management and protective regulations are paired with consistent angler advocacy.