Weekly stockings

[RichieFer]

Anyone know if there still continuing with the in season stocking this week ?

[Billfish715]

Haven't heard, yet. There are still so, so many trout left in all of the rivers and brooks and ponds that even if they don't stock this week, you will be able to have good fishing. The Musky came up over a foot today and this rain will change things there and across the state The last anyone said about stocking was that it would be unannounced and random. Also, the restrictions about "closed waters" was waived. If you are there when the truck pulls up, you don't have to wait until 5 PM anymore. You can just fish. This is all to prevent anglers from congregating in parking areas waiting for the 5 PM start. It also prevents anglers from staking out their favorite brook or pond waiting for the stocking crew to show up. The stocking days that are posted in the Digest or Online don't matter. The South Branch may be stocked on a Friday instead of Tuesday and the Musky may be stocked on Tuesday instead of Friday. That goes for the brooks and streams that don't have closed waters. It makes great sense to me. It's pot luck.

[AndyS]

No word from New Jersey Trout Unlimited, no word from New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, no word form the Federated Sportsman's Clubs, very little word other than a video from New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.

[bigfishy]

Originally Posted by AndyS

No word from New Jersey Trout Unlimited, no word from New Jersey Outdoor Alliance, no word form the Federated Sportsman's Clubs, very little word other than a video from New Jersey Fish and Wildlife.

What's the word in ur neck of the woods???are ppl fishin ? Being stopped from fishing??? Hows the fishing???

[AndyS]

What virus ?

[bigfishy]

Originally Posted by AndyS

What virus ?

That's all ya got?? In other words you dont know??

[Jerzguy2]

Because of the virus and the uncertainty of the ability to maintain the regular stocking schedule. All of the weekly stocking have already been placed in their respective streams. Therefore, the only trout remaining in the hatchery are the fish for the fall winter stocking and 48,000 retained for stocking the last 2 weeks of May if all goes well. This is the reason for such large numbers of fish being observed the last couple of weeks.

[muskynut]

Re: Trout Stocking
In-season closures have been removed; the 14 waters normally closed to fishing until 5:00 p.m. on their weekly designated stocking day may be fished at any time or on any day of the week after the season officially opens on April 11 at 8:00 a.m. All waters open to the public will have received trout by today, Friday, April 3. Stocking will continue until April 10. Specific stocking dates will not be announced.

[Billfish715]

Originally Posted by Jerzguy2

Because of the virus and the uncertainty of the ability to maintain the regular stocking schedule. All of the weekly stocking have already been placed in their respective streams. Therefore, the only trout remaining in the hatchery are the fish for the fall winter stocking and 48,000 retained for stocking the last 2 weeks of May if all goes well. This is the reason for such large numbers of fish being observed the last couple of weeks.

So, can we conclude that even the small brooks and streams that were to be stocked through the first few weeks of the season have received their full season's quota of trout? Streams like the Little Flatbrook, Lubbers Run, Capoolong Creek, Spruce Run Creek, Lamington River, Peapack Brook, Passaic River, Green Brook yada, yada, yada and various lakes and ponds have received the entire number of trout to which they were entitled. Is that correct?

Finally, does that mean the currently closed areas of parks and forests have also been completely stocked or were they not stocked after their preseason stocking? Was a popular park like Stephens State Park stocked while the park was closed or were those trout stocked elsewhere?

[Drossi]

It's my understanding that all the spring trout have been stocked including those waterbodies that are in the now closed parks. They wanted to get them in as quickly as possible so that they could keep the NJDF&W out of harms way. With the high water from yesterdays rain this is going to be a real interesting rest of the season.