Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Always an interesting read. Lots of pike being tossed into Cranberry.

F&G really does an amazing job for the anglers of NJ!

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pd...tockings18.pdf

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Very interesting! I have to laugh at the crazy difference between the number of largemouth stocked vs. smallmouth.

Largemouth total: 165,049
Smallmouth total: 17 :D :D :D What did the smallmouth do to them!

But the amount of fish they stock every year is pretty insane. They do a great job of making tons of different fish species available to us. They get a lot of flak but they really do make the state so versatile when it comes to fishing.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

I believe all the small mouth eggs developed a fungus and didn't hatch

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Huh! Very interesting. Tilcon was a good place to put the few they did get - could have an awesome salmon/smallmouth fishery there in a few years.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

They threw lotsa golden shiners into RV.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Wow, they sure did. Hope they survive!

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

The shiners thrown into RV become instant fish food. F&W told RVTA time and time again that shiners need warm weedy water to spawn and reproduce.
Yes, the SMB eggs went sour and never hatched.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

I wonder if they'll ever be able to get the forage in RV back to what it used to be like. i've been hearing stories of the huge bait clouds they used to see in there and i'm very jealous. It's still a great fishery but i wonder how long it will stay that way without a more consistent forage of bait.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Highly unlikely

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

At least they'll supplement the senko-scud diet the fish are currently on...

The efforts to restore balance to RV is fascinating to me, like tinkering with a giant live tank.

What could possibly work to establish a forage base in that place?

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

That's a very interesting comparison, and I think it's spot-on. Makes me wonder what that fishery was like in the 1960s.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

I just get blown away when I see Muskellunge and trout stocked in the same waters.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Alewives for example need plankton as a food source and they fair very well in places with a good amount of milfoil. I haven't fished RV in probably six years but it was deficient in both back then. I heard that needed to pump river water into it to add plankton into the food chain. I really wonder if there is even a way to restore the Valley's balance unless they can introduce a prolific food source that eats scuds but that would only last until the scud population is diminished and without a natural balance the only solution is to add forage.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Maybe gobies, followed by smallmouths? lol

What do scuds eat? The few lakers I've taken from there were loaded with scud (and senkos)

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Need to get new water flowing in there.

Re: Hackettstown Stocking Summaries
 

Anyone catch one of them musconetcong tiger musky yet?