This is so weird... The first Warmouth observed in CT (confirmed by CT DEEP Fisheries) was in Jan 2016 from a small private pond in Beacon Falls, CT. A population was then confirmed via electrofishing in May 2017 in a public lake (Toby's Pond), also in the town of Beacon Falls. I was just dipnetting for aquarium fish and on the first drag came up with this guy on the opposite side of the state.

A yellowish fish with shiny blue markings on its face and a black dot behind its head. Its dorsal and anal fins have black dots at the bases and whitish edges that are more prevalent on the anal fin. This white edge is also present in the tail fin. A bold fish that approached me as I floated still in the water. Swam with me for a while and attempted to eat my hair.

County record! Vicinity of Manchester Township, NJ. "Black" Rat Snakes ("Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta") are virtually unknown from the Pine Barrens proper, known only from the fringes of the region and the Inner Coastal Plain in South Jersey. I've sought (and found, haha!) the herpetofauna of the Barrens for more than 45 years, and this 53" gravid female "Black" Rat was the LAST species I thought I'd run into on my first adventure there of the season! A truly awesome day in the field with fellow Herpetologists Pete Danch (@jdanch) and Tianqi Huang.