Trout stocking meeting Feb. 28

[AndyS]

The NJDEP Division of Fish and Wildlife will be holding its annual trout stocking public meeting at the Pequest Trout Hatchery on Saturday, February 28, at 10:00 a.m. This important meeting provides an excellent opportunity for anglers to ask questions, voice their opinions, and give suggestions regarding New Jersey’s trout stocking program. The stocking program for the 2015 season will be presented and explained.

Looks like ONLY rainbow trout for the next 5 YEARS !!!

[Dave B.]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Looks like ONLY rainbow trout for the next 5 YEARS !!!

Andy is spot on with that statement. The Div. has no intention of introducing any new stock into Pequest for at least the next 3 years, and even if they did at that time import some fertilized eggs from elsewhere it would still be an additional 2 years before those fish were of stocking size, so 5 years appears to be the minimum time frame for rainbows only.

That aside, someone had posted awhile back asking about the possibility of any broodstock this spring. The answer is yes, both the Bonus Broodstock Lake program as well as some larger fish for most other waters will be in place. The caveat though is that for TP waters any larger fish will only be 2 y/o at an avg. 14-16 inches. Still respectable sized fish just not the jumbos we've seen in past years, however hopefully that situation will be better next spring as the Pequest production cycle fully recovers from last year's problems.

For TM and non-trout waters there will be both the 2 y/o fish as well as a small number of 3 y/o fish averaging 17-19 inches. The reason for those 3 y/o fish not being put into TP waters is that although they have consistently tested negative for furunculosis they were still in the hatchery during the outbreak and may have been exposed to the pathogen. As such they are considered potential carriers and under the Div. guidelines cannot be stocked into any designated TP waters.

The full 2015 stocking schedule should be available on the Div. website within the next 7-10 days, but for anyone who might like a preview you can take a look at the 2013 stocking schedule found here... http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/pdf/2...on13-sched.pdf

With only a few very minor alterations the numbers and locations are the same for this year. There are a few waters that will see very minor total numbers changes for the spring season from the 2013 schedule, we're talking only about 20-30 fish per waterbody for the entire spring season.

Also the Bonus Broodstock Lake schedule will be posted for those interested. This years list consists of... Amwell Lake in Hunterdon Co.-50, Barbours Pond in Passaic Co.-50, Echo Lake in Monmouth Co.-50, Giampetro Park Pond in Cumberland Co.-50, Holmdel Park Pond in Monmouth Co.-30, Oak Pond in Camden Co.-50, Ponderlodge Pond in Cape May Co.-50, Seelys Pond in Union Co.-30, Spooky Brook Park pond in Somerset Co.-50, and Sylvan Lake in Burlington Co.-50.

[baetis]

I know my complaining on the internet isn't going to change anything, but 5 years of just rainbows sucks.

Reading between the lines, it seems to me like the big fear is that the furunculosis hasn't been removed and that's why F&G is leery to try to raise Browns and Brooks.

IMO, if all of our neighboring states can raise a variety of fish, NJ should be able to as well.

It sucks that lakes like Merrill Creek/Shepherds/Swartswood are going to lose out on brown trout for half a decade.

It's kind of pathetic that New Jersey can't even stock its state fish.

[Jigman13]

Originally Posted by baetis

I know my complaining on the internet isn't going to change anything, but 5 years of just rainbows sucks.

No, it doesn't suck. It's better than nothing and I'd rather the state takes its time correcting it. If putting bows in mcr and the other lakes listed is all they want to do for the next 5 yrs, so be it. Other states stock diseased fish. NJ doesn't want to. How can anyone complain about that?!

Give them (the state) time. They'll fix it and get it back to where EVERYONE is happy again... In the meantime, just be glad they're maintaing stock numbers and doing what they can to correct a problem.

[Billfish715]

There a lots of guys on this board who were not around when the NJ trout came from Hackettstown. There were many seasons when NJ had to trade for trout from other states so there would be fish to stock. It was not uncommon for disease to wipe out populations of brook trout mostly. The trout that were stocked were small and a 12 incher was one to brag about. Only a few lakes were stocked and the major streams were closed to fishing until 5 A.M. the morning after they were stocked. Trout fishing has come a long way since then. Appreciate what you have. Rainbows are good for everyone because they are hearty, grow big, pull hard and eat everything making it good for sales of all kinds of bait, lures, flies etc. Win. Win.

[Cshadis92]

I live down the street from seelys. I can tell you all if you're going anywhere near 78, which seelys is, just keep going to other bodies of water. Between n branch, s branch, rockaway creek, etc, seelys pond is not the destination for trout if you're already in your car lol. I live friggin steps away from the res and I've never, ever dropped a line in here. Everyone talking about the poaching and all that is 100% correct. Far as all rainbows being stocked, I'm cool w that! Any trout stocked is a bonus. But this ice right now.........not such a bonus.

[Eskimo]

Originally Posted by Dave B.

Also the Bonus Broodstock Lake schedule will be posted for those interested. This years list consists of...Seelys Pond in Union Co.-30

I fish there and I can tell you don't bother. Seely's Pond gets poached EMPTY before opening day.
Opening morning consists of a pond ringed with guys standing around scratching their ass wondering where all the trout are.

From what I hear from people driving past there, a bunch of guys show up in the evening and catch all the trout they can carry and leave every day until they've emptied the pond.



.

[Billfish715]

Six weeks until opening day. Is there a problem with catching only rainbows? Stocking the lakes might be a challenge. The crews will probably have to cut holes to pour the trout in.