Fall Trout Stocking

[NJSquatch]

From NJFW

https://dep.nj.gov/njfw/news-2024-10...cking-updates/


Fall Trout Stocking in rivers and streams is still scheduled for the week of October 21, 2024.

However, due to continued low-flow river and stream conditions, stocking will be left to the driver's discretion and any significant deviation from stocking will be noted on the 2024 Fall Trout Stocking Schedule page.

OCTOBER 21, 2024 UPDATE:

Big Flat Brook (Upstream of Rt. 206): Flows in this section of the Big Flat Brook are too low for trout stocking. The fish allocated for this section will be distributed downstream of Rt. 206 throughout the rest of the trout stocking locations.

Black River: Flow in the Black River is so low that trout will not be stocked anywhere in the river. These fish will be stocked in the South Branch of the Raritan River between the Red Mill Dam in Clinton Township and the confluence with the North Branch of the Raritan River.

Rockaway River: Flow in the Upper Rockaway River is too low for trout to be stocked north of I-80. These fish will be stocked throughout the rest of the Rockaway River.

Wallkill River: No fish will be stocked upstream of the Passaic Street bridge. These fish will be spread out throughout the rest of the Wallkill River.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Due to space and timing of the production cycle at the Pequest Trout Hatchery, the trout raised for the fall season must be stocked. The reasons for this include: the hatchery currently has 3-year classes of trout on site; the 2024 Fall and Winter fish fill eight pools that are occupying space for the 2026 spring season, and there are more than 1,000,000 fish hatching in the nursery and 360,000 2.25-inch trout that need to be moved outdoors to allow space in the nursery to grow until additional space is available during the 2025 Spring Stocking Season. The large fish are also running out of room in their pools and some of the larger broodstock that need to be stocked are holding up space for future broodstock to grow.

All fall trout-stocked waters may be fished as soon as they are stocked. There are no “closed waters” during fall stocking.

[thmyorke1]

unfortunate to see but i respect the decision. I wonder if they make more deviations than the ones posted so far. I could see the raritan river mainstem getting a lot! Definitely going to be a challenging winter for those that like trout fishing through it.

[AndyS]

Meanwhile on the mainstem Raritan.........(only been asking for fall trout stocking for 9 years)

[thmyorke1]

Originally Posted by AndyS

Meanwhile on the mainstem Raritan.........(only been asking for fall trout stocking for 9 years)

"..stocking will be left to the driver's discretion"
Andy, dont you see it! become a trout truck driver for the state! You could use your discretion to fill the raritan river main stem from headgates dam to bound brook !!!

[AndyS]

You know sure as God made little kittens that the Ken Lockwood Gorge will again packed with trout. God forbid some fly guy goes in there dressed out in $1000.00 of Orvis stuff wont get skunked and their egos won't get bruised.

[thmyorke1]

You know what, I'd figure there are local spey anglers that would fight for some main raritan stocking too!

[AndyS]

Did anyone ever take the time to see where these big trout go in the fall ???
I mean nothing against our South Jersey anglers, and I say this in all sincerity, but really, lets break it down and take a look shall we:

The Manasquan and Metedeconk Rivers: The only thing I know about the Metedeconk River is my buddy kept his 28 ft boat at a marina on the Metedeconk. The locals call it the Mosquito-a- conk. I'm guessing if you live near either one of these rivers the last thing on your mind is 15 inch trout with bluefish, striped bass and blackfish at your finger tips, I could be wrong. I know the Manasquan aka the Muddysquan is an anglers delight with high muddy banks and snags that would make the best blackfishermen cringe.

Roosevelt Park Pond: last thing I heard about this pond in Edison is that it was full of Ganesh idols

Schadler’s Sand Wash Pond: Just by reading the name I envision nice cedar water full of pickerel nestled somewhere deep in the Pine Barrens.

Maurice River: thought this brackish river was best known for it's white perch, again, I could be wrong.

Giampietro Park Pond, Grenloch Lake, Hammonton Lake, Lower Echo Park Pond, Mary Elmer Lake: I'm guessing these duck ponds are below Atlantic City somewhere off the Parkway. Definitely high on the list when people think of large trout.

[AndyS]

The 146,000 chinook salmon and 1,100 steelhead trout released in the Raritan River return when mature. Meanwhile, the bureau will be concentrating on the Raritan River, a river that offers at least a 50-mile stretch with plenty of access, steadily improving water quality and already some fishing for striped bass, herring, trout and shad. Bruce Pyle, chief of the bureau, said the steelheads and chinooks stocked this year came from eggs supplied by New York from its Altmar Hatchery. Art Lupine, senior biologist in charge of the bureau's anadromous fisheries research project, said river water quality is vastly improved from what it was 20 years ago and he sees the river as having great recreational potential. "Conditions seem to suggest the river is suitable for establishing anadromous species," he said. "And we might see some male chinook salmon return in three years. They could be fish weighing from 15 to 30 pounds." The chinooks that were released in the Raritan River averaged 3.2 inches long with 58,000 stocked in 1987 and 88,000 this year. The steelheads, which averaged 9.5 inches long, were released this year. "It usually takes the chinooks about four or five years to return," Lupine said. "The steelheads, which might weigh anywhere from 5 to 15 pounds, could come back in two or three years.

I can't even get a few trout in the fall !!!!

[Broad Bill]

I never knew steelhead were anadromous. There were 58,000 king salmon released in the Raritan in 1987? Never knew that either, were there any returns? I know the state tried forever to establish the sea run brown trout fishery I believe in the Manasquan which never materialized. But I've never heard of Kings and Steelhead. If that fishery were ever to be established, it would be a pretty amazing feat to have salmon and steel in the Raritan. Andy when did all this come together, never even realized discussions were being had. This isn't an April fools joke in October is it!

[AndyS]

Circa 1970:
NEW JERSEY'S stocking steelhead trout and chinook salmon in the Raritan River has infuriated the Hudson River Fishermen's Association.
John Cronin, the association's riverkeeper, said that the unheralded introduction of what he called exotic species to the Hudson estuary was thoughtless and may harm indigenous species, including the striped bass and shad, that use the estuary in all or portions of their life cycles.
Both the chinook, or king, salmon and the steelhead (a migratory strain of rainbow trout) are West Coast species, as is the coho salmon. All three have been widely introduced elsewhere, including Lake Ontario. The chinook is the largest salmonoid (trout, salmon or any of the whitefishes) in North America, with a few specimens weighing over 100 pounds.
''The introduction should not have been a casual process,'' Cronin said. ''A lot of potential consequences haven't been examined, including the straying of adult chinook into the Hudson.''
Cronin says his group, a 22-year-old, 500-member conservation organization, knew nothing of the Raritan endeavor, including last year's stocking, until just before the most recent release earlier this month.
Cronin said that New Jersey should have informed the public and adjacent states of its plan, and should have been required to prove that the introduction would not be harmful. There is no law requiring the state to do so.
The Raritan project evolved out of a similar one New Jersey began contemplating for the Delaware several years ago in which steelheads, coho and chinook were being considered for introduction. When that idea became public, strong opposition to it developed, mainly from New York state, but also from Pennsylvania. Implementation of that plan is stalled pending the results of an environmental impact study. Such a study was not called for on the Raritan, which flows into Raritan Bay at Perth Amboy, presumably because it is within New Jersey's borders.
The opponents of the Delaware plan said they saw no justification for running the risk of harming the native brown and rainbow trout fishery in the upper reaches of the Delaware, a fishery they described as being unequaled east of the Mississippi. The impact statement will presumably determine whether such a risk exists. Meanwhile, the Delaware River Defense Coalition, a group made up of various chapters of Trout Unlimited, the Theodore Gordon Flyfishers and the Federation of Fly Fishermen, is working against New Jersey's plan for the Delaware.