I would like to speak to anglers who regularly fish for spring trout

[tycomps]

"As for the cormorants, I have never seen a skinny one at any of the trout stocked ponds or any pond for that matter. They don't take all of the fish, but they do eat a good number of them. Twenty cormorants on a small pond that is stocked with 150 trout is like an "All You Can Eat Buffet"! They don't wait until opening day to begin fishing either. If you feed them, they will come. Just saying!"

has there ever been a culling program?

[Blackfishhead]

Sadly a few years back when they stocked Holmdel Park Pond with breeders a flock of 8or9 cormorants harrassed a big old girl of three or four pounds . Going under grabbing her coming up holding her trying to get the fish fish down the gullet then let go . The next one ( Black Death aka cormorant) would go under chase her , grab he r and try and and get the big fifh down it’s gullet. Poor fish I wacthed as they repeatedly tried . Wish they had open season on them.And this was a couple days BEFORE the opening day.

[RyanMac14]

Blackfish- Hooks creek has definitely come a long way since Sandy. I had tremendous success after stocking days last year and during the year for both trout and bass. This year I was there opening day and multiple times thereafter for both and I did not land a fish or see a single fish landed any of my outings. All reports were of a fish here or there but nowhere near what was supposed to have been stocked. I landed this big girl there last year and had good number days but seems this year was completely different

[Blackfishhead]

I remember that one . Nice fish! I never congratulated you when you first got it. I had a nice one one like but a little smaller this spring only for a minute until it got caught up in the weeds and got away. ! Bummer but thats fishing.

[RyanMac14]

Thanks man. That fish youre speaking about was at hooks this spring? The only thing ive gotten there this year are TINY bass on my inline spinner while looking for the trout that are not there lol

[MudCat08]

While I have fished Whites Pond in Waldwick a few years for trout, I normally only find them in the Hohokus Brook the feeds the pond. Some of them go up that stream or fall down the dam and those are the spots i usually find them, although i usually see some older people fishing and catching them out of the main pond. And there is always a couple of stories every year that someone caught a 5lb+ breeder out of there..