Musconetcong Stocking?

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by acabtp

jeez, come on man, it's fishing, you're supposed to work for it. you want to just go pick your guaranteed trout up at the hatchery? i'm all for the drivers using their discretion to spread the fish around best. IMO i don't think they should even announce the stocking days/routes, just the number of fish to be stocked and the stocking area boundaries.

"if you are not close to where the fish were put in it's very unlikely you'll catch anything"
like 99% of the posts on this board contradict that

Amen, brother. Fall trout are stocked at all of the same spring stocking points.
Stocking is @ “the driver’s discretion”. For example, if he deems that the water is too shallow @ a regular stocking point he may not stock there. Those fish will be added to the fish stocked @ a deeper stocking point on the same river.

Way back when, NJDF&W did not announce the stocking days/routes, just the number of fish to be stocked and the stocking area boundaries.

Typical phone call
Angler: I didn’t catch any,………you didn’t stock!
NJDF&W: We did stock. Sometimes, they don’t bite right away.
Angler: If they are there, I catch them. You didn’t stock!
NJDF&W: Sometimes, when I go fishing, I get skunked.
Angler: Not me!!

[tycomps]

Originally Posted by Mark B.

Amen, brother. Fall trout are stocked at all of the same spring stocking points.
Stocking is @ “the driver’s discretion”. For example, if he deems that the water is too shallow @ a regular stocking point he may not stock there. Those fish will be added to the fish stocked @ a deeper stocking point on the same river.

Way back when, NJDF&W did not announce the stocking days/routes, just the number of fish to be stocked and the stocking area boundaries.

Typical phone call
Angler: I didn’t catch any,………you didn’t stock!
NJDF&W: We did stock. Sometimes, they don’t bite right away.
Angler: If they are there, I catch them. You didn’t stock!
NJDF&W: Sometimes, when I go fishing, I get skunked.
Angler: Not me!!

do they still post new "trout stocked waters" signs when they stock a location?

[Mark B.]

Originally Posted by tycomps

do they still post new "trout stocked waters" signs when they stock a location?

They don't post "trout stocked waters"@ stocking points in the fall, as they posted that year's signs there in the spring.

[FASTEDDIE29]

I don't get it. On my way home last Saturday I stopped at the Musky to check the water levels and take a few casts. I threw plugs and had Trout chase em every time. There were Bows and Browns in the mix. I didn't catch any in that 10 minutes time but they're definitely in there. These were holdovers. Before the recent stocking. The stockng signs are cute. I don't need em!!!

[Billfish715]

Amen, brother. Fall trout are stocked at all of the same spring stocking points.
Stocking is @ “the driver’s discretion”. For example, if he deems that the water is too shallow @ a regular stocking point he may not stock there. Those fish will be added to the fish stocked @ a deeper stocking point on the same river.

If the drivers use their discretion in choosing the stocking points then it's possible that all of the stocking points are not stocked as you said. I'm saying that there were no trout in many of the stocking points, so therefore the driver used his discretion and did not put trout in some of the spots where I and others fish, in the spring.

So, can you say, without a doubt that trout were stocked at all of the same spring stocking points? You might be able to say that they were stocked in some of the same spots or in the area of where they were stocked in the spring. That, I'll accept. There is a lot of water between stops however and that is my observation. If you went to your favorite spring spot expecting it to have been stocked, you could have fished for long stretches without so much as a bite.

Fishing is fishing and not catching. I get it. But, if you say that you put them in at all of the stocking points and you didn't, then at least man up and acknowledge it instead of trying to question someone's observations or prowess with a sarcastic and demeaning reference to "typical phone calls".

3,450 Last week of spring stocking
2,850 Fall stocking

600 fewer trout were stocked in the Musky in the fall than during the last week of stocking in May. Even if there were 60 stops along the river, that means that anywhere from 40-50 trout would be stocked at each spot. I know that all spots don't get the same amount but they should get something! There certainly were enough trout for the last spring stocking and I don't remember any spots being left off the list. 600 fewer trout for the fall stocking shouldn't mean that there weren't enough trout to go around for the whole stream.

All I ask is that if spots were not stocked, then just say so. I'll find spots next month that hold fish, that's not a problem. That is, if I choose to go. I chose to go on Wednesday and the spots I chose to fish did not have any trout. Having the choice between having a nice day in the outdoors while fishing or having a nice day in the outdoors catching, I'll take catching all of the time.

[Paul N Skill]

To all those bitching about the stocking here is a suggestion. Volunteer to help. TU and other organizations are always asking for volunteers to help with the stocking.

[tycomps]

at the risk of getting flamed I think Bill's situation has merit from a business perspective- I believe (correct me if I'm wrong) that the trout stocking in NJ is a 'business' supported (partially?) by the sale of licenses and trout stamps (which I think have been declining?). I'm not a big trout fisherman myself, preferring the hunt for wild fish, but I can understand the frustration someone (technically a 'customer' having purchased the license and stamp as well as perhaps supported a local tackle shop with trout related purchases) might have after using a valuable day off at a location they believed to have been stocked (with the 'product') that hadn't been. It may make good 'business sense' to somehow provide the 'customer' with 'product availability' information (perhaps on the NJFG update page for fall stocking?).

ok, LET ME HAVE IT NOW! (kiss me first and be gentle)

[Castaway]

I fished two different “stocking” points in the musky today, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The fishing was excellent at both spots. Nice size fish and plenty of them at both locations.

[jas160]

I'm not a big trout guy, but I still pay for my stamp every year. To think that you can you can go to your "spot" and automatically pull out fish is absurd. Drivers shouldn't dump 50 fish into a small pool just because it is 5 feet from a parking spot. I understand the pay to play argument, but wouldn't you rather have good fishing all winter rather than all the fish being pulled from under a bridge with shallow water within the first week?

[Mark B.]

Sat. AM, walked out onto the bridge over the South Branch, Raritan River in Three Bridges.

Two anglers were casting spinners,……….saying that that they hadn’t caught any, & “that maybe the State didn’t stock”. Watching them for several minutes, I told them they were wrong, as I observed several trout following their spinners. Then, finally, one hit, was hooked briefly & got off. More casting, nothing, & then a small Largemouth Bass was hooked. Which indicates to me, that the water is still too warm for the trout to be hitting, regularly @ that location.