Raritan river

[Dirtyjerzeyhed]

Just want to say thank you to Andy s and the rest of the crew that cleans up the Raritan River. I just started to explore the river this year due to some boat issues and am very impressed with the water clarity and great scenery. I went out Sunday the 24th and caught 4 smallmouth all about the same size. 3 on top water and 1 on jig and craw combo.

[thmyorke1]

that's a pretty fish out of a pretty river!

Have fun exploring, there's a lot to see.

[Mark B.]

It is that time of year.

Last evening on the low & clear Delaware R. near The Devil’s Tea Table:
Caught a Fall Fish & a good number of smallies. Two were 18": One hit the surface Skitter Pop. The other one really smacked the floating rainbow trout Rapala in knee deep water & took off a hellin'.

Near where a few years ago, in the fall, I caught & released my largest walleye (30") on the rainbow trout Rapala. I also caught & kept a 21" walleye.

I keep one every once & a while as they are delicious.
NJDF&W can always make / stock more.

[Jigman13]

Why doesn't the raritan get a stocking of walleye and/or smallies? It's a great ecosystem, plenty long and has it's deeper sections and is loaded with bait. Aside from trout stockings it seems like the Raritan is the forgotten step child of NJ rivers. While obviously not as vast as the Delaware it can certainly handle a stocking of fish other than trout.

Quite a few of us on this board frequent the raritan targeting a multitude of species and to also aggressively clean it up (thank you Andy). There are quality fish in the river. We've seen epic shoals of shiners, shad, , suckers, chub, dace, killies, etc. We've witnessed a prolific population of crayfish and eels. Shad are slowly but surely increasing each year.

Maybe I'm missing something bc I'm fishing the river a lot but I think the state should really consider using some of those massive walleye stocking numbers on the big d to establish stronger populations of gamefish in the raritan. I'm sure many of us, members and lurkers alike, would be appreciative of this.

Originally Posted by Mark B.

It is that time of year.

Last evening on the low & clear Delaware R. near The Devil’s Tea Table:
Caught a Fall Fish & a good number of smallies. Two were 18": One hit the surface Skitter Pop. The other one really smacked the floating rainbow trout Rapala in knee deep water & took off a hellin'.

Near where a few years ago, in the fall, I caught & released my largest walleye (30") on the rainbow trout Rapala. I also caught & kept a 21" walleye.

I keep one every once & a while as they are delicious.
NJDF&W can always make / stock more.

[thmyorke1]

Good point Jigman.
Mark wouldnt have to mention the Delaware every time a Raritan thread was posted if so.

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by Jigman13

Why doesn't the raritan get a stocking of walleye and/or smallies? It's a great ecosystem, plenty long and has it's deeper sections and is loaded with bait. Aside from trout stockings it seems like the Raritan is the forgotten step child of NJ rivers. While obviously not as vast as the Delaware it can certainly handle a stocking of fish other than trout.

Quite a few of us on this board frequent the raritan targeting a multitude of species and to also aggressively clean it up (thank you Andy). There are quality fish in the river. We've seen epic shoals of shiners, shad, , suckers, chub, dace, killies, etc. We've witnessed a prolific population of crayfish and eels. Shad are slowly but surely increasing each year.

Maybe I'm missing something bc I'm fishing the river a lot but I think the state should really consider using some of those massive walleye stocking numbers on the big d to establish stronger populations of gamefish in the raritan. I'm sure many of us, members and lurkers alike, would be appreciative of this.

You are not missing something, because you state: “Shad are slowly but surely increasing each year.” = a recovering American shad population.

NJDF&W does want to, directly, stock predators of American shad in to the Raritan River.

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by Mark B.

You are not missing something, because you state: “Shad are slowly but surely increasing each year.” = a recovering American shad population.

NJDF&W does want to, directly, stock predators of American shad in to the Raritan River.

That's "does not want to, directly, stock predators of American shad in to the Raritan River."

[Jigman13]

Is that the primary reason? The only thing choking back an adult American shad would be a decent striper or musky. Not sure walleye or smallies would be apex towards American shad.

The gizzards on the other hand are candy to all!

[thmyorke1]

I figured the dams were the shad's biggest problems, not predation which is already high in the river with all the smallies etc.

[Lard Almighty]

Originally Posted by Mark B.

That's "does not want to, directly, stock predators of American shad in to the Raritan River."

Mark, I will defer to your professional expertise as a biologist, but it seems to me that the predatory fish of the Raritan have a plethora of prey species to target aside from juvenile American shad. Emerald shiners, gizzard shad, sunfish, creek chubs, sculpin, crayfish, tadpoles, leeches, hellgramites, and frogs are just the ones I can name off the top of my head. Given the healthy forage base, are you of the opinion that the recovery of shad will be significantly set back should more predatory fish be stocked? Alternatively, would the shad benefit from supplemental stockings of prey species, so the predators target those instead of the shad?