OPENING DAY IS SATURDAY, APRIL 9

March 30, 2011 (rt23 news) - The stocking trucks from the Pequest Trout Hatchery will begin rolling on March 21 as the spring pre-season distribution of this year’s trout gets under way. By year’s end, approximately 600,000 trout will be stocked throughout the state, but the action really gets going on Opening Day, April 9, at 8 a.m.
The "production trout" will average 10.5" but will be kept company prior to opening day by some of the more than 6,000 two to five pounders which are also being stocked. This spring, trout will be placed in 88 streams and 90 ponds and lakes throughout New Jersey. Those trout will be in addition to some of the 26,000 two to five pound bruisers still in the water from stockings in the fall and winter. Fortunately for the state’s anglers, trout remain available throughout the summer in many waters.

Photo courtesy Tom Pagliaroli HIGHLIGHTS FOR 2011

Trout fishing in New Jersey continues to be some of the best available on the East Coast. The average size of the trout stocked is larger than trout stocked in neighboring states, and the Bonus Broodstock Lakes and the breeder stocking programs provide plenty of trophy size fish within a short drive from anywhere in the state. Aside from some allocation changes, noted below, the 2011 season is expected to provide the normally superb trout fishing opportunities New Jersey anglers have grown to appreciate.

Driving directions to some of the state’s better know trout water access points can be found at www.njfishandwildlife.com/accesswater.htm. Anglers are reminded that access to locations along trout stocked streams may be available only through the good graces of private landowners. Please be respectful of their property and take care not to damage trees and shrubs. Leaving your fishing location cleaner than when you arrived helps maintain good angler-landowner relations and ensures continued public access to trout streams.


Allocation Changes
Spring trout allocations are calculated annually using a computerized database. Individual allocations may differ from previous years if there is a change associated with the waterbody (such as a fishing regulation change, or a new or dropped stocking point). Newer technology (GIS mapping) is now being used to update our trout-stocked waters database so this year there are more changes than usual. The most significant changes are described below, and an overview of the trout allocation methodology appears on page 6 in the Freshwater Digest.

Posted by: rt23 staff
Website: NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
March 30, 2011
08:49:21