Avid sportsman/outdoorsman may be moving to CT; what activities exist?

zuren1cs · 02-15-2007, 02:34 PM

The company I work for has decided to close shop in MI and attempt to relocate people to one of multiple other sites it has in the US. The 2 sites that fit the kind of work I do are located in MO and CT. I know very little of the east coast other than it's crowded, it's expensive (compared to MI) and I always told myself I would never live there..........now it looks like I may! Specifically, I'd be located near Groton.

I'm looking for general feedback on the natural aspects of CT:

How's the small game hunting?
Is it relatively safe to hunt public land or are there too many crazies?
How's the fishing (ocean surf or lakes/rivers)?
Are public hunting areas crowded?
Any weird hunting laws?
Gun ranges (up to 100 yds.) easy to find? Cost?
etc.

I'm looking for everything and anything that you can tell me. Right now I live in SE MI on 2 acres in a farm area with a several thousand acre state game area located a 5 min. walk frommy driveway. A state run riflerange is 1 mile from housethat costs nothing (just need a Natural Resources parking permit). I doubt I will be able to replicate that in CT, but want to see how close I can get.

Thanks!

jf5 · 02-15-2007, 03:58 PM

Don't know allot about CT...but here it goes.

Plenty of small game hunting. Small game is not as popular in New England as it appears to be in other areas. So you might have the palces to yourself...

Yes. Public lands are pretty safe. Itwill get crowded duringdeer firearmsseasons though...wear your orange!! Otherwise...you should have no issues.

Freshwater fishing of OK to decent for Bass, panfish, trout. Some waters have pike and walleyes. I would assume the freshwater is nto as good as MI though. GREAT saltwater. As a guy from the midwest, I think this is one area that might impress you. Stripers and bluefish fishing is great...groundfish, tuna is in decline but is still there.

No idea on the ranges, but I would bet there are plenty around

CT-Hunter · 02-18-2007, 08:16 AM

Hi,

Welcome to CT. Where in the state will you be?

Find out about licensing ASAP. You may need to take a course. The course is easy, finding one can be difficult.

It is not the best state for hunting. Public opinion of hunters ranges from indifferent to hostile. This is reflected in the attitude of the state government. State land is open but of marginal quality for hunting. Private land is private. No trespassing without written permission. Even if you have access nearby buildings may restrict access. My club lost the use of of 20 - 30 acres due to nearby development.

In the last few years, the number of waterfowl hunters has decreased significantly due to access and regulatory issues. But we do have a generous resident goose season if you can find a place to hunt.

Upland game hunting is in a steep and may be a terminal decline. Late grouse season has been closed (Nov. 30 is the last date). Pheasant hunting is put and take. The state stocking program declines by about 10% a year. I understand it is now about a third of where it was 10 years ago or so. In 5 - 10 years, the state pheasant program will probably be gone. Private clubs have their own stocking programs and many clubs are actively seeking members as the number of hunters declines due to age. Rabbit hunting is also in decline. Habitat loss and increased predation has cut into rabbit populations. The New England cottontail may soon be protected and since it looks like an eastern cottontail, well you figure it out.

Deer hunting can be good if you have access top private land. Deer populations have stabilized and there is some indication they are in decline due to increased predation (coyotes, bears, and bobcats) and aggressive hutning / culling operations in high density areas. This winter, with a good acorn crop, record breaking warmth through January, and minimal snow cover should make next fall a good deer season.

Turkey hunting is a bright spot but here too access is an issue. In addition, in many places aggressive feeding by homeowners have pulled turkey's out of huntable areas.

Good luck.

NorthPA · 02-18-2007, 09:25 AM

Hunting opportunites, cost of living, fewer peopleand milder weather, may all be better in MO.
My kid got out of the, (submarine), Navy and lived in Groton for a while -- I know he complained about most of the things you inquired about.

Rhody Hunter · 02-18-2007, 10:05 AM

Groton is right on the ocean and borders R.I. where i live . The fishing is great. i love the ocean its great in the summer .public land is safe . Not a lot of small game hunting like other states .Cost of living is higher but i realy enjoy living on the coast i think the area will defenatly grow on you .Scout out the area and go in a distance on public land and you will find area to hunt all by yourself

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Mike Hill · 02-18-2007, 10:37 AM

Well some other factors to think about. First I used to live in Groton but its been a while now 81-85. I now live in Mass.

I hunt in Ct. not far from Groton every year and I think it has the best hunting in New England. The secret is to find private land thats not over hunted which I really think if you work at it living there you will have no problem use work contacts, church. As stated earlier there are great clubs in the area I am joining one myself (even though I live in Mass). The state runs a great trout stocking program although I feel they release them a year to soon as they are pretty small. Pheasant hunting is done on a tag system 10 tags a year. You will be living by the Pachaug State Forrest which is the largest in the state and has some great hunting of small and big game its where I do all my state land hunting.
The beauty of living in New England is that we are all small states and most folks hunt and fish multible states here. You can live in Ct. and hunt from Me. Vt. N.H. Ma and R.I and the cost per non resident license is very reasonable compared to most mid and western states. Plus you have NY and N.J. and PA and all the states I mentioned are no more then 4 hours away.
The draw back is that the cost of housing is steep along the cost. I would say on average a 3 bedroom house on a lot it that area is about $275000.00 and in Groton the Rents are inflated because of the Navy base which is home to thousands of sailors who need to house their familys. And as any one who was in the service knows one thing civilans in a military town are good for is ripping off the service members. Which the civilian population gets caught up in too.
Any way some local nice towns to look into with a short commuite would be Voluntown, Griswald, Preston, Unkasville. to name a few.
I think you would love living in New England there is truly no other place in the world with more diverce activitys. The schools are the best in the nation. If you would like any more info and decide to relocate here send me a PM I will assist you in any way I can. Good Luck

bsteve · 02-19-2007, 10:59 PM

I've never worked for Pfizer but everyone that has says it ain't as good as it once was. My daughters boy friends parents relocated from Ct. to Michigan( he works in Ann Arbor)last summer. Last month he was notified that his plant was closing next year. At any rate I live in S.E. Ct. Like the others have said cost of living is pretty high. Saltwater fishing is very good. Hunting is good if you have private land ,but state land can be good if you scout around. There are 2 state forests- Patchaug and Nehantic and several management areas within a half hour drive of Groton. Oh, did I mention no hunting on Sundays ?

zuren1cs · 02-23-2007, 12:34 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: bsteve

I've never worked for Pfizer but everyone that has says it ain't as good as it once was. My daughters boy friends parents relocated from Ct. to Michigan( he works in Ann Arbor)last summer. Last month he was notified that his plant was closing next year. At any rate I live in S.E. Ct. Like the others have said cost of living is pretty high. Saltwater fishing is very good. Hunting is good if you have private land ,but state land can be good if you scout around. There are 2 state forests- Patchaug and Nehantic and several management areas within a half hour drive of Groton. Oh, did I mention no hunting on Sundays ?

Very good bsteve, indeed I work for Pfizer! We have a couple people that recently hired into my dept. in the same boat as the people you know; recently moved here, bought homes, etc. only to loose their job months to a year later. Not a good deal! I just bought home 4 months ago after waiting 2 yrs. for the one I wanted/could afford.

Thanks for the responsesso far, this is the type of info I'm looking for! I found this website and getting a lot info I'm looking for as well:

http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2700&q=323386&depNav_GID=1633#L OWNER

It seems that if you have 10 or more acres, deer hunting is free!?!?!? I don't know that I can afford 10 acres, but that's interesting to know.

Also, what's this about not hunting on Sundays? Is this some church mandate handed down by the original settlers?

bsteve · 02-23-2007, 11:04 PM

That's right free land owner permits fior the whole family if you own 10 or more acres. The sunday hunting law is known as a "blue law",left over from the Puritans. Maine doesn't allow hunting on sunday either. We have good waterfowl hunting, lots of geese.Also agood turkey population.

pa257 · 02-26-2007, 08:28 AM

I lived in Ct from '96-'99. I wish I didn't move but that was because i had a cool old farm-house and my company's stock exploded from $13/share to a over $100/share, I have very poor timing[X(]. Anyway, I lived outside of New Haven and as much as it was pretty run down and gunky it grew on me. Good fishing, especially salt but therewas a salmon run in the Naugatuck. I never hunted in Ct but becuase PA is only3-3.5 hours away I always went back home to hunt. New York is close as well as Mass, Vermont, NH and Maine.

I don't know what type of work you do for Pfizer but I work in the bio-pharmaceutical field and have been consulting for the last 5 years. It's different but i don't miss the stress and inter-office politics of a "real" job. I do pay both ends of social security (~14%)though and if my wife didn't work I would also pay for insurance (~12k/year). I did a project for Perrigo two years ago and they were in desperate need of people with a pharma background. You might consider them if you want to stay in MI. The plant is in Allegan, I'm sure you know this already though. If you want to consider consulting I could shoot you a pm with the pros and cons. I do QC\QA, validation type consulting and average about 8-9 months of work a year,working 95% of the time as a sub-contractor for consulting companies.Anyway, good luck in your choice.