Freshwater Fisheries Forum Feb. 22 at Batsto Village

[UglyStick]

Too far for me but if anyone attends, please publish the details (or supply a web link if available) of the stocking policy, I would love to read it.

[Dave B.]

I'll be there, as always. Won' be able to post on it until late night though due to other commitments. There was a bit more to the email the Div. sent out that Andy posted the excerpt from that might interest some folks...

"More information on the policy, including an online comment form, will be posted on the Division's website after the meeting."

This will be the opportunity for everyone to review the proposals and voice opinions/concerns/suggestions to our Div personnel. Rest assured all views will be taken into consideration but the reality is the biologists have some difficult decisions to make for the benefit of our fisheries and it's inevitable that some will be met with degrees of resistance, no doubt even from myself.

A quick edit here, the documents and links are already posted up on the Div. website. Here are the links...

http://www.nj.gov/dep/workgroups/doc...ce20140221.pdf

http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/pdf..._changes14.pdf

Briefly, the spring stocking period is being shortened to 4 weeks, certain trout production waters and all trophy or holdover trout lakes will not be stocked, and several waterbodies not normally stocked will be recieving thousands of trout.

[Polelock]

I believe another meeting will be held in early march in Hackettstown.. I will confirm the date unless someone else has it..

[UglyStick]

WOW !!! Thanks so much for posting Mark...

As much as this sucks, it seems like a reasonable plan based on the situation at hand. I have to believe that most of what is getting stocked in the rivers not on the no-go list are going to be rainbows.

"Passaic River – (below Great Falls to Dundee Dam) 24,000"

Can you spell... pike feeding frenzy???

[The Birdman]

Wow thats pretty crazy.

a lot more "trout stocked water" signs to pin up too

The passaic will be a slaughterhouse i now know what bait to use

I wonder now if we cant fish that section of the passaic 3 weeks before stocking aka prime pike time?

and i had no idea barbours pond led to trout production water? its in Paterson

Instead of shortening the season to 4 weeks, why not just space out the stocking weeks and still have a normal length season? not enough browns for the warmer waters?

Good plan tho