Freshwater Fisheries Forum January 21- recap:

[AndyS]

Another great meeting offered to us from all the people who work hard behind the scenes.
Lots and lots of really great info on catfish, walleye, northern pike and muskellunge. Stats, figures, locations, you name it. Quite a few Trout Unlimited people as well as Round Valley Trout Association people were there. This meeting was a little different than last year as trout were really not discussed at this meeting, last year there was a lot of trout talk at this meeting.
One thing I found disturbing was the collapse of Smallmouth eggs at the hatchery, not good.
Had a great time, Wilson drove and we hit the IHOP in Hackettstown before the meeting. There was plenty of ample time to talk to biologists one on one.
We also got the short tour of the hatchery and got to drool all over the baby muskies being raised there. Next big meeting will be at the Pequest hatchery to talk about trout.
Now the really bad news, only 50 people showed up for this meeting.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by AndyS

only 50 people showed up for this meeting.

And 10 of them were state employees

[TheDreamCatchers]

There is some things this state needs to fix but for the most part they do a fantastic job. 1 example is to stop wasting muskies and pike on places where they have no chance. Like DOD pond is tidal and they put muskies in there. And deal lake which is a mud pit filled with crabs white perch and carp they keep putting pike in there. (yes pike and crabs are living in the same lake believe it or not)

[AndyS]

Should have come to the meeting and told the biologists.

[Dave B.]

For all of you South Jersey folks who weren't able to make the long drive up north, the upcoming annual S. Jersey Freshwater Fisheries Forum is coming up on Feb 18 at Batsto Village Visitors Center. The biologists and staff from F&W will be replaying the entire presentation on the Coolwater Fisheries program that Andy spoke of above as well as a number of other topics.
Regarding the Coolwater Fisheries presentation biologist Scott Collenburg has done a fine job of gathering, quantifying, collating and developing a presentation of an immense amount of data collected over the past 3 years through a number of means. If you fish for northern pike, muskies, walleye or hybrid stripers in any NJ waters you really should make it a point to attend!
After the presentations there is always an open Q&A session and beyond that you have the opportunity to speak one-on-one with any of the Freshwater Fisheries biologists present or even the Bureau Chief herself Lisa Barno on any freshwater fisheries subject, issue or concern you might have.
All that aside it was good to see you again Andy, and very nice to finally meet the infamous 'Wilson' of this forum!

[bulletbob]

let me tell you guys something from an outsiders viewpoint.. NJ has absolutely incredible fresh water fisheries management,,, We have water resources here in NY that NJ can only dream of, yet NJ fresh waters produce better fishing in some cases. Yes we DO have big Pacific salmon runs in the Great Lakes, and some good deep trolling for trout in the finger lakes but thats where the money goes it seems.. To the trout fishing in tourist zones... We have no hybrids just about anywhere in NY, channel cats are limited to mostly a few big rivers, Crappies are tough to find in a lot of areas,and a lot of the big lakes that once had great bass fishing have been decimated by the hundreds of tournaments held here every year. Also the warm water fisheries in the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes have been wrecked by Zebra Mussels, and the Round Goby invasion.
We have pike in many places throughout NY state, but nowhere do we have the fantastic Pike fishing that the Passaic River offers... I see the pictures posted daily from NJ fresh waters, and shake my head.. For its small size and huge population, not to mention limited fresh water resources NJ has maintained great fresh water fishing opportunities.. Yes we have the big salmon and big trout in the big lakes, but its also big water and big boat fishing until they come up the rivers and steams to spawn, and then its combat zone fishing...

In NJ you can catch about every fresh water game fish that exists in the state from a 14 foot boat or even a canoe.. Can't always say that about here in NY... Its only my opinion, but bigger isn't always better.. Judging from what I have seen over the years right on the pages of this forum, you NJ fresh water guys are doing very well with the limited water available, and a LOT of the credit goes to the way the fishery is managed in NJ... I lived in NJ and fished in NJ fresh water for 37 years, and miss it. . I bob

[Charlie B]

Yes our state does a great job on fresh water. On salt water there hands are tied by the feds. But even there they are trying to do the right thing and push back against the feds...Charlie

[Dave B.]

Thanks for the insightful post Bulletbob! It's definitely good to hear from someone outside of our state with a positive take on how our biologists are doing, especially coming from a state like NY that does have so much more land, water and potential resources.

As a side note for all you trout aficionados out there I would strongly urge you to attend the annual Trout meeting at the Pequest hatchery on Feb 25. Word is there are a fair number of changes to the Trout regs that are going to be proposed. While most are reportedly 'minor' in nature apparently there are supposed to be a couple of fairly major changes proposed. While no information has been made public yet I can speculate on what some of the proposals might be based upon the conversations that have taken place the past couple of years at both the Freshwater Fisheries Forums and the Trout Meetings. Among the things discussed in depth at those meetings were some shake-ups to the WTS list and regulations, and likely of more interest to most folks a change to the daily bag limit for the Fall/Winter period from 4 fish to 2.

If any of these subjects are of concern or interest to you I would try to make a point of attending this meeting. That's Feb 25, 10:00AM at the Pequest Trout Hatchery.

[nate01]

I could not agree more with bulletbob. I am originally from bucks county Pennsylvania right outside Philly and have lived in north jersey for 10 years. Coming from PA and having lake nockamixon and lake galena as the go-to waters, I was convinced that big lakes were an overfished waste of time. NJ does a fantastic job with walleye, pike, and hybrids, and with opportunities for trout all year long. Someday I'll hopefully add LL salmon, lakers, and muskies to the repertoire. In Southeastern PA I don't know of anywhere to find pike, salmon, and lake trout... and walleye, hybrids, and muskies are nowhere near as common. My friends from that area come here to fish with me, never the other way around. The best resource in that area is shared with NJ--the Delaware River.