Friends Of The Housatonic River

Friends of the Housatonic River had a wonderful turnout for their first ever River Only Bluefish Tournament this past Saturday. The FOTHR.org coordinated event was sponsored by Sikorski Financial Credit Union and ctfishermen.com.

83 Fishermen and Fisherwomen participated in this worthwhile event. Local Anglers competed for cash and prizes with all proceeds going to the continued protection, restoration and improvement of the tidal lower Housatonic River.

The weather was amazing and the fishing in the Housatonic River was red hot! Read more

Congratulations to Dave Youngquist from Shelton catching a massive 18.88 pound bluefish!

FOTHR first tournament was a great success with over 83 contestant, showing the thriving Housatonic River

Complete tally sheet of ALL entries

Fishing throughout Connecticut is just simply fantastic right now.

Striped Bass fishing has steadily improved as fall approaches. Falling water temperatures have Bass returning to our local beaches and rivers looking to feed voraciously before there long swim south for the winter months. Bass up to 38 inches were caught this past week around Penfield Reef in Fairfield, Sunken Island in Southport and Charles Island in Milford. These fish are taking full advantage of the ridiculous amounts of Peanut Bunker that have been schooling around the area and can be caught by throwing spoons, plugs and swimming lures that closely resemble these baitfish. Eels seem to be producing well at night. Fresh chunked or live bait also is working well, but is hard to locate. Some Adult Bunker has been reported around Milford and New Haven, but not in large numbers. Read more

Entry fee: $20 - Open to the public (includes a FOTHR Sticker)

Prizes: 1st = $400, 2nd = $200, 3rd = $100

*** We added prizes ***

1st, 2nd, and 3rd also includes a subscribtion to CTFishermen.com

$25 gift card to Sport Center for 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th (Sponsored by Sikorsky Financial Credit Union)

FOTHR hats as 8th, 9th and 10th place

Fish anywhere by boat or land in the Housatonic River from Stratford bell buoy 1 north to Shelton/Derby from dawn to 3pm

Please keep mortality to a minimum, prior to keeping any fish monitor the up to the minute recorded udates from the weigh in station at 203-278-3320

Download and post the flyer

Buy your entry ticket HERE or see Charlie Schnautz at Ayer's Landing Marina.

All proceeds support FOTHR for Non Profit

***UPDATED*** Rules and Regulations ***UPDATED***

As reported from the CT Post     Please comment below

If permits and other applications from federal and state sources come through, a New York-based company could begin tests on a new technology to generate electricity from the tidal flows in the Housatonic River in 2009.

Natural Currents Energy Services President Roger Bason said his company filed a preliminary application for approval with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but must also get approvals from state agencies, including the state Department of Environmental Protection.

Read more

From member Mark

"Thought this would be worth posting on the site..."
http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/lis%5Fuwtour/

2007 Greatest Bluefish Tournament on Earth
AUGUST 25th & 26th
203-366-BLUE More info here

Check out these photos and the rusty (see thru) holes in the cross members. Please leave comments.

***UPDATE***
After we fowarded these photos to Mayor Lauretti the Mayor has requested from Commissioner Carpenter an investigation and will receive a report once the investigation is complete.

This bridge was built in similar design to the Minneapolis bridge collapse.

From WTNH Website:
"Another well known bridge of similar design is the Route 8 bridge over the Housatonic River in Shelton, also known as the Commodore Hull bridge. DOT says it was last inspected last year and is undergoing inspection now. They say some older bridges are inspected more often."

It is listed as:
" ' structurally deficient'......In this case, the bridge "has structural deficiencies or poor rating for the substructure, which is the pilings, the part that is under water or near water," DOT spokesman Judd Everhart said."

http://www.wtnh.com/global/story.asp?s=6884506

I will have to take some photos and post them here. I have not seen any inspection going on?!

Effective immediately, the Friends Of The Housatonic River (FOTHR) are dropping all litigation regarding the disposal of dredge materials from Caswell Cove in Milford at locations in the tidal Housatonic River near Shelton.

We feel that, through the efforts of FOTHR, local politicians such as Mayor Mark Lauretti, State Senator Dan Debicella, State Senator Larry Miller, retired State Senator George “Doc” Gunther, and the community at large, we have accomplished our initial goal of stopping the disposal of dredged material in the Housatonic River. The actions by the Connecticut DEP, to shift the disposal of this material to an authorized disposal site in Long Island Sound, are more environmentally responsible. We are thoroughly grateful for the outpouring of financial, political, and moral support we received in bringing this issue to the public and communicating our concerns in order to stop this damaging activity. Read more