Great points catch22.

My 2 cents..........

1)License sales, and therefore revenues, will drop like a rock (and they will, they dropped dramatically in MA when they did it)

They might drop the first year or two but will level out in the long run.The lack of opening day will also draw anglers from other states who will need to purchase liscenses to fish in CT. Drive by the Farmington on any given day and you will see the out of staters out number the CT plates.

2)The DEP budget will be cut, because they are bringing in less revenue to the general fund.


We as fisherman need to lobby for MORE $$$ for the DEP the state will listen if the number of voices is loud enough.

The DEP will save money from not having to pay staff overtime to get the stocking done by opening day.

3)Because of the budget cuts, less trout will be stocked.

But we will have more trout overall because we will not be losing 60% of the annual trout stocking in a 2 week period.

4)Because less trout are stocked, even fewer licenses will be sold

It may be true but fishing will be better for longer periods than just the two weeks after opening day.

5)Repeat steps 1-4 until rock bottom is reached.

I daubt it will ruin trout fishing in CT. Overall CT DEP has created a world class trout fishery on some of the waters that can hold trout year long and some big trout at that. CT draws anlgers from all over already which brings in added revenue.

Getting rid of opening day may cause some minor inconveinaces but overall it will only benifit the fishery and us as anglers in general.