Fishing Guide cover features local folks

#Middlebury #Fishing

Middlebury residents James Curcuruto and his son, Cooper, are the smiling fishermen on the cover of the Connecticut DEEP 2020 Fishing Guide. James entered this selfie in the annual best photo contest. (Photo courtesy Connecticut DEEP)

By MARJORIE NEEDHAM

The winning photo in the seventh annual Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Annual Fishing Guide Cover Photo Contest was taken by Middlebury resident James Curcuruto. The photo, a selfie, shows Jim and his son, Cooper, with a pair of largemouth bass caught at the same time while fishing at Taunton Pond in Newtown.

Jim said he and Cooper, both members of Newton Fish & Game, are excited about being selected for the fishing guide cover. He said, “This photo was taken the morning of June fifteenth and we used spinning rods with wacky-rigged Senko worms. A typical day of fishing there gets us up early and on the lake around 6:30 a.m. Most of the bass we catch are released, but the occasional one makes it to our table. We catch ‘doubles’ every once in a while but unfortunately for me, my catch is always smaller than Cooper’s.”

The father-son duo did a lot of fishing in Connecticut in 2019, but said their favorite locations are the Pomperaug River for trout and, not surprisingly, Taunton Lake for bass. They were announced as the winners at a February press conference at the Burlington State Fish Hatchery. One of three hatcheries in the state system, the Burlington hatchery raises 100,000 fish each year, including brook, brown and rainbow trout; and kokanee salmon that are then stocked in waters throughout Connecticut.

DEEP Supervising Fisheries Biologist Mike Beauchene was in charge of the photo contest. He said 254 entries were submitted this year. Of these, the top six were chosen, with the first prize winner’s photo going on the cover and the others inside the guide.

He said there is no monetary reward, “nothing but basking in all the glory being on the cover of the fishing guide brings.” He said the cover choice actually creates quite a ruckus with everyone having an opinion about what it should or shouldn’t be.

Beauchene said this year’s contest for the first time had a theme, “families fishing together.” “We wanted to promote our efforts to show that fishing is a great activity you can do with family and friends,” he said.

He said judging the photos is a tiered process with the deputy commissioner and bureau chief making the final decision on the winners. He said that decision is always very difficult and any of the top six photos would make a good cover.

He said he thought Curcuruto’s photo won the grand prize for several reasons: As a selfie, it was a bit more modern and more relevant to today’s phone-based picture taking. The facial expressions are great, and the photo documents catching two fish at one time.

The 2020 edition of the guide should be available about mid-March. Look for it at Middlebury Town Hall. In the meantime, pick up a copy of the 2019 guide or see it online at www.ct.gov/deep/anglersguide.

The 2021 photo contest has already kicked off. “We start soliciting the day after we announce this year’s winner,” Beauchene said, “and entries trickle in all throughout the year.” He said the deadline for the next year’s guide is always Nov. 1 of the preceding year. For more information about the Annual Fishing Guide Photo Contest, visit www.ct.gov/deep/anglersguidephotocontest.

Adult anglers spend more than 4.4 million fishing days on Connecticut waters each year. This translates to nearly $450 million in economic activity across the state.

Beauchene said he wanted to dispel the myth that fishing license fees go into the General Fund. “This is not true,” he said, “All the money goes to support the fisheries program; none of the money is diverted for other purposes. Their investment in their passion is 100% spent on their passion.”