Saugatuck River

The Saugatuck River flows from the hills outside of Danbury, Connecticut through the Saugatuck Reservoir down through Redding and into Westport through the fly fishing only area on Ford Road and eventually into Long Island Sound.

One of the most accessible sections of the Saugatuck River in Fairfield County, Connecticut is the Saugatuck River William ‘Doc’ Skerlick Trout Management Area (TMA), a fly fishing only section located on Ford Road in Westport, Connecticut. This section is from Dorr’s Mill Dam to the Merritt Parkway.

This section of the Saugatuck River on Ford Road is a seasonal catch and release trout management area and fly fishing only section from September 1 until 6 am on the second Saturday of April, then a two trout limit is allowed. Tackle is restricted to single hook flies until August 31st, with a two trout daily limit. All trout must be larger than nine inches and a State of Connecticut fishing license and a trout and Salmon stamp is required.

This location is stocked with trout (rainbow trout, brook trout, brown trout, and occasionally tiger trout) by the state of Connecticut a few times of the year (Spring & Fall). Along with stocked fish, there can be holdovers from the previous season.

There are pulloffs on the roadside for parking and multiple points of access for anglers. Some access is more difficult than others, but find your spot and head in! Near the Doc Skerlick sign, head downstream on the path to a longer run with easy access for wading or fish one the deep bridge pool.

Water type is riffle, run, and pool. Several deep pools under and below the bridge, below the island at the Doc Skerlick monument, and further down past the bend and the house on the hill on the opposite bank.

Pocket water is all over the Ford Road area, and fishing the pockets as well as the riffles in Spring and Fall can yield some nice fish. Work the tailouts.

Like the Mianus River TMA, A 4wt or 5wt rod is recommended for this section and a floating line is generally all you will need, but if flows are high fishing the deeper sections (by the bridge) with a sink tip works well for streamers.

Dries, and dry droppers can be fun here! Prospecting with an elk hair caddis dry and a caddis pupa or an Adam’s parachute and a black Zebra midge are a great way to fish the river. Double wets or soft hackles can also bring success. Nymphing even small flies like zebra midges can bring results. Streamers on 3X tippet can bring surprising results in low light at sunrises or close to sunset.

In the early Spring you will find stoneflies, both little black stoneflies (size 16-20) early black and brown stoneflies (size 14-16). Caddis hatches can be more sporadic, but a size 14 or 16 elk hair caddis in olive or tan works well in Spring and Fall.Look for terrestrials like ants, grasshoppers, and inchworms

Light Cahills (size 14 & 16) and the sulphurs (size 18-22) are a major hatch in early summer, but timing is everything. It can be challenging and rewarding to fish at this time of year!

Midges are a prevalent hatch in cream and black as well as olive. Fishing a Griffith’s gnat, smaller Adam’s or Adam’s parachute can work for dries, and a Zebra midge as a nymph or on a dropper works well.

There are minnows and fishing smaller streamers like a clouser in size 8 or 10 can work in olive (favorite color), white, or black. Woolly buggers can be fun in olive or black (size 8 or 10), but I feel clousers (size 8) will yield better results.

The Saugatuck gets a lot of pressure, and the fish tend to get picked out and can be finicky as the season progresses. By summer you can catch panfish and bass, but fishing here in the Summertime is not recommended due to the higher water temperatures. Winter fishing can be challenging.

Fishing Maps and Trail Maps:

Saugatuck River TMA Trout Stocking Map (State of Connecticut, DEEP)

A state of Connecticut fishing license and a trout and salmon stamp is required to fish the Saugatuck River.