Lamington river 5/28/19:

[AndyS]

Started out on the main stem by Dukes, a few bumps and shakes, not impressed with the water quality so I moved off. Went near Uncle Ken's house on the North Branch and hooked a super feisty rainbow, jumped strait out of the water 3 feet into the air !! Quick release and no pic.
Moved further up and ended up on the Lammy. Hit one spot and nailed a nice SMB. There were a pair of carp way up there that thought they were Sockeye Salmon ! Stopped in at another spot off Rt. 523 where there are NO trout stocked signs, got a few nice SMB. Moved even further up and checked the river up near Pottersville. Access becomes tough as you get further up and ended up on the Black river. Saw what looked like the old Black river fishing club, posted signs but not the actual club signs that used to be there.
Started to do more sight-seeing now as I knew the skies were going to open up at any moment, been a while since I took the drive up there.
EVERYTHING is so GREEN and lush !!! The streams are in great shape other than a tea coloring. Huge canopies covered the filled streams, the fish must be very happy. So much water you could float the Lamington from Pottersville to the North branch.
No fish pics today, just scenery.

[AndyS]

Went up to Hacklebarney and made a U turn coming down the opposite side of the mountain. Hooked a feisty trout for a moment that hit under the foam on the Black river.

[thmyorke1]

Nice report. Wish more was open and accessible up there. The spot i hit in the winter was really pretty, accessibility is thin however.

[Billfish715]

The state bought a large portion of land south and west of the park many years ago. There was access to the river but it was quite a hike. The land and river shoreline was across from the old trout club. The access along Black River Road on the west side of the river is still posted from what I've seen. A few fish swim down from the park but not many are stocked in comparison to other rivers. The park used to be packed on Thursdays after stocking as well as on Friday mornings with most fish being creeped or put on stringers. The Lamington up that way and downstream from Pottersville has few public access points.

[AndyS]

As I drove up along the Black river I saw many no trespassing and posted signs, no trout stocking signs from the State. I guess all the stocking is done within the park itself ?

[Billfish715]

There are many posted areas along the river. Parking is also restricted in many areas along the road especially upstream above the dam and towards Route 24. The river is stocked from the Cider Mill by Route 24 to the dam downstream from there. The stocking then concludes within the park. The stream in between those points is not stocked and the surrounding land is posted.

For those who want another access to the park, there is a fishermen's parking area at the end of Lamerson Road. It's a bit of a hike through the woods and down through the rocky, hemlock lined ravine to the river on the opposite side from the park. It's very scenic.

If you are looking to catch many holdover trout, the rocky riffles present a challenge but there are some fish that the catch and creel fishermen leave behind. The state might look into increasing its quota of stocked trout because the river certainly can support a larger amount of fish.

The state is managing one of the tributaries ( Rhineharts Brook) for wild trout production, and some stocked fish do work their way into the brook; so, I guess increasing the stocking quota will be put on hold.