N.J. vs PA trout:

[AndyS]

The commission annually stocks about 3.15 million adult trout in 720 streams and 126 lakes open to public fishing. That includes about 2 million rainbow trout, 640,000 brown trout and 500,000 brook trout.
The average size of the trout produced for stocking is 11 inches in length.

Trophy golden rainbow:
In addition to the 11-inch trout, which are the bulk of the commission’s stocking, about 8,700 trophy golden rainbow trout, weighing about 1.5 pounds and measuring at least 14 inches each, will be stocked.
Additional trout

In addition to the fish stocked by the commission, cooperative nurseries run by sportsmen’s clubs across the state will stock another 1 million trout to waters open to the public.

What's the limit?
The daily limit is 5 trout, each at least 7 inches long, March 31-April 13 in the regional-opening-day area in southeastern Pennsylvania and April 14-September 3 statewide. The limit is reduced to 3 in the extended season on most stocked waters September 4-February 28, and to no harvest on Class A streams.

[Super]

PA has 13 hatcheries. And it's geographically much bigger and more rural than NJ. And, IMHO, the people in PA are more outdoor oriented. And most of the water in PA supports trout. There's really no comparison between PA and NJ.

But NJ has the Atlantic Ocean, so we win.

[thmyorke1]

PA has 13 hatcheries. And it's geographically much bigger and more rural than NJ. And, IMHO, the people in PA are more outdoor oriented. And most of the water in PA supports trout. There's really no comparison between PA and NJ.

But NJ has the Atlantic Ocean, so we win.

Agree. Clearly PA has better trout opportunities for the right reasons.

[Detour66]

3.15 million trout are a lot of trout! I wonder what is the percentage that are caught? The percentage that are holdovers? And the percentage that don't survive for whatever reason. All in all..that's a lot of fish!

[AndyS]

Limestone springs.

[hammer4reel]

the quality of the fish put in PA overall are a lot nicer than NJ
in comparison the fish are like the old federal stockings we used to get in NJ

[AndyS]

The funniest thing about Pennsylvania is if you ask them where something is they have no clue. Just reached out to no less that 4 groups that do work on the Lehigh like trout stocking etc. and asked them if the Lehigh was open year round to fishing, not one of them knew the answer.

[Sako1]

Try the PA Boating Commission Office, NE Regional Office:
•Phone Number: (570) 477-5717

I haven't fished the Lehigh, but have fished the Tobyhanna, Broadhead, and Bushkill for years and can offer advice on these streams.

[Castaway]

I see more PA license plates then jersey plates on the musky a lot of days in the spring. That had me thinking the trout fishing must not be to good on their side.

[Dave B.]

I see more PA license plates then jersey plates on the musky a lot of days in the spring. That had me thinking the trout fishing must not be to good on their side.

The same can be said for the Flatbrook. Always a lot of PA anglers there in the spring.
For anyone who may be interested the executive director of the PA Fish and Boat Commission will be on Rack & Fin Radio on Sat. Mar 10 talking about the PA trout program. You can catch the airing on WPG 1450 AM/ 104.1 FM from 6:00 to 7:00, or on 97.3 ESPN radio out of Atlantic City from 7:00 to 8:00 AM.

I'll be tuning in to hear what he has to say. I fish NJ, PA and NY every year, although not nearly as much as I'd like to!

[Capt. Lou]

I now reside in eastern PA so I can readily fish both PA & NJ waters regularly if Imchose to do so . I lived in NJ for 45 years and know those waters very well , PA is vast in comparison so you may have to travel a lot more to get quality fishing .
Our PA stocking program is in my area at least conducted by a group of serious volunteers which I have taken part in in my local waters .
Overall I personally prefer NJ tout waters due to the fact I can be at the best of them within 1/2 hot to an hour .
I fish trout year round putting in 75 days or more . About 90% of those in NJ waters for good reasons .
I prefer seeking big trout those over the 5# mark and in this category for me I do better in NJ .
It's pretty simple u can randomly catch a big trout most anywhere but if u stick,with waters you can truly learn your far better off then fishing new waters in lieu of this method .
When we stock PA in spring many waters local to my house may receive a couple of 5# plus fish in NJ's fall stocking alone I've seen more breeders per hundred then I've ever seen in PA locally .
So to me it's simple I can fish NJ easily due to most good waters being close that's my key , getting more fishing time and exposure to many more big fish .
Once u concentrate your time on waters where u can spend more time your better off as long as there the correct streams that harbor good supplies of trout.
Last year I landed over 700 trout most from NJ however PA in spring locally was good as well .
Once u learn how to take the big girls regularly and I don't mean to imply it's easy , sometimes it's months befor I get a 5# plus fish others times I Get lucky and get several in as many months , it's all timing n methods .
I've taken 41 trout over 5#'s in the last 7 seasons 80%' from NJ waters that's why I fish there . It works for me .

[baetis]

New Jersey's fall and winter stocking program is very good.

The failure to keep the birds out of the pens and decision to abandon brook and brown trout stocking sucks horribly. If all of NJ's neighboring states can raise and stock a variety of trout, NJ should be able to do so as well.

[Troutfishing4life]

New Jersey's fall and winter stocking program is very good.

The failure to keep the birds out of the pens and decision to abandon brook and brown trout stocking sucks horribly. If all of NJ's neighboring states can raise and stock a variety of trout, NJ should be able to do so as well.

Other states do not care about the diseases in the Trout they are stocking compared to NJ.
NJ is going the extra mile to ensure the trout it stocks are healthy and will not affect wild and native fish. Where other states just stock what ever they want

Both States offer good trout fishing it depends what you are into

[AndyS]

That whole disease thing was a joke ! They hire a Pathologist and suddenly the hatchery is doomed with disease. It's all a Federal money grab. It's beyond fish, it's politics.

[KRocks]

I completely agree with baetis.

I grew up literally a half mile from the NJ/NY border in Suffern, NY. The Ramapo and other bodies of water are well known interstate rivers. If Shepherd Lake in Ringwood was a 1/10th of a mile bigger on its Northern end, it would be in NY State. Check it out on a map, along with all of the Sterling Forest and Harriman State Park waters.

Rockland and Orange are the NY counties that respectively border Bergen and Passaic. I've fished most of the lakes and streams/brooks in these areas.

If you check out the NY State stocking program for just these border counties, they stock brookies and brownies galore. How is right over the border in NJ so different?

As a NJ resident now, I would prefer to fish local waters but I keep finding myself going back over the border to NY because I can only catch so many same-old stockie Rainbow Trout. With all due respect to JD Tuna and his Wild Brown Trout honey holes. :D

[baetis]

I completely agree with baetis.

I grew up literally a half mile from the NJ/NY border in Suffern, NY. The Ramapo and other bodies of water are well known interstate rivers. If Shepherd Lake in Ringwood was a 1/10th of a mile bigger on its Northern end, it would be in NY State. Check it out on a map, along with all of the Sterling Forest and Harriman State Park waters.

Rockland and Orange are the NY counties that respectively border Bergen and Passaic. I've fished most of the lakes and streams/brooks in these areas.

If you check out the NY State stocking program for just these border counties, they stock brookies and brownies galore. How is right over the border in NJ so different?

As a NJ resident now, I would prefer to fish local waters but I keep finding myself going back over the border to NY because I can only catch so many same-old stockie Rainbow Trout. With all due respect to JD Tuna and his Wild Brown Trout honey holes. :D

Krocks,

Please tell those NY stocked trout in the Ramapo not to migrate into NJ. Same with all the Greenwood Lake trout. They aren't allowed to flood over into the Wanaque. Come to think of it, I hope none of the trout PA or NY trout end up in the Delaware and make their way to NJ either. I'll work on teaching the Eagles and Ospreys not to fly over state lines either.

[Mark B.]

NJ is going the extra mile to ensure the trout it stocks are healthy and will not affect wild and native fish.

Absolutely correct.

That whole disease thing was a joke ! They hire a Pathologist and suddenly the hatchery is doomed with disease. It's all a Federal money grab. It's beyond fish, it's politics.

Fake news.

[Dave B.]

That whole disease thing was a joke ! They hire a Pathologist and suddenly the hatchery is doomed with disease. It's all a Federal money grab. It's beyond fish, it's politics.

Frankly I fail to see how a disease outbreak that affects hundreds of thousands of trout is a joke. As for the hatchery being 'doomed', I've not heard that one before. Regarding your statement that 'It's all a Federal money grab', again I'm not familiar with that, but if it were true why would you have a problem with our Freshwater Fisheries Bureau getting a bigger piece of the excise tax cash pie that we all pay into via the federal taxes on rods, reels, line, lures, boats and equipment, etc? It's our dollars that are supposed to come back to our Div. F&W. I can't seem to see any sense in your statements.

[NorthJerzyG]

There are vast opportunities for great trout fishing in both states, NJ and PA, and also NY. For me, it's all about location. What's the "closest" place to find my target catch? Am I after big stockies, or do I feel like hiking a wild stream? Maybe I feel like fighting some lake dwellers?

While it may suck to have to buy an out of state license, is it worth it in the long run to travel less and have more time to fish better waters?

I've fished a bunch of spots in NJ, PA, and NY. Had some awesome, and sh!tty days everywhere. All depends on how much time I have, what I feel like chasing that day, and my willingness to explore. "I could fish that same stretch I did well at last week..... but I kinda wanna check out this new spot?" The decision could decide whether or not I catch em up or get in a nice fishless hike......

As for quality and species of fish, it's been shown that ALL are available in each of the surrounding states. Just depends on what your after and how much time and effort you are willing to put into the chase.

All that being said, I have not heard about diseased stocked trout causing outbreaks in wild pops in surrounding states. Although I'm sure it may have happened and is not widely reported, I could see where it seems like an "overabundance" of caution to the fishing public. Keep in mind I am certainly no expert on the topic.

For me the only differ is, over the last few seasons, catching some decent size "stocked" brookies that were pretty unexpected.... Then again, one of my most memorable Bows, caught in an NJ river.... ;)

[Chrisper4694]

I mean...honestly...let's just have a trout picture post off! Post your trout pics and state PA, NJ, or NY and we'll see which has the better fish!! hahaha I'd say keep it to eastern PA and southern NY though to remain in the same general area and cut out super far traveling trips.

who wants to start?....and go:

[Dave B.]

NJ, a smaller one of countless caught over the years, including one a few inches longer caught 2 weeks after this one not very far away in the same stream. Of course I catch many similar sized fish in both NY and PA so there's really no competition. About the only difference is the wild ones from the upper D and branches. You simply can't compare a 25 inch wild brown or 'bow to even a long-term holdover for fight, although some of the Kamloops strain 'bows that various clubs and groups stock from the Musky Trout Hatchery into several NJ waters will give a very close battle to the wild upper D 'bows.

[Chrisper4694]

very nice! how do you tell the difference between a kamloop strain? Did you see that big bow i got a few months ago? It didn't look like any rainbow i've ever caught before in either shape or color.

this is NJ by the way.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.fishidy.com/5a1cad0a66b01a0af81ec2f3_800

These are NJ too.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.fishidy.com/59fba96d66b01b02900efd4a_800

https://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.fishidy.com/5845dcdf66b01a0560234495_800

This is from PA.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/photos.fishidy.com/5a009dcf66b01f07f4845ee0_800

[Capt. Lou]

NJ, a smaller one of countless caught over the years, including one a few inches longer caught 2 weeks after this one not very far away in the same stream. Of course I catch many similar sized fish in both NY and PA so there's really no competition. About the only difference is the wild ones from the upper D and branches. You simply can't compare a 25 inch wild brown or 'bow to even a long-term holdover for fight, although some of the Kamloops strain 'bows that various clubs and groups stock from the Musky Trout Hatchery into several NJ waters will give a very close battle to the wild upper D 'bows.

I'm not to sure about that many big bows I've taken have really fought hard , only a couple are slugs that I can remember ! I use to,own a resort on the upper D and many decent Browns I've taken in those waters did out fight my local big fish .
Pound for pound it's very close when u catch both in optimum water temps , I've taken many kamloops / Donaldson in NJ when NJ first stocked them in Spruce Run up to 20"'s or so . Not sure if there both same species
These local fish did not out fight my big bows at all , yet the ones I took in BC , these were tougher but a small one was about 5#'s !
These are my observations and I target big trout all the time .

[Dave B.]

Heheh, I know you land more than your share of bigguns Lou! Regarding your Donaldsons/Kamloops question, different strains. The Kamloops tend to be VERY fast and very often quite acrobatic/aerobatic similar to fresh run steelhead, even when just freshly stocked from a hatchery. As for the upper D and branches, those browns up there are just simply bruisers as you well know! Pure brute power in those animals!

Chrisper, I do recall that pic you posted some time ago of a very silvery 'bow. It did appear to me to be a Kamloops or mix thereof. They generally have that silvery appearance regardless of the water they're in, and while they tend to have a bit of a tall body such as the 'bow in your pic, they're yet thinner left to right, and as I mentioned above generally put up quite a fight, often going airborne. You may encounter them frequently in the middle to lower Musky since a fair number are stocked there every year. As well many of the 'bows that Shannons stocks in the SBR are Kamloops strain since they usually get their fish from the Mancini's Musky Trout Hatchery between Asbury and Bloomsbury.
Luv the big wild brown pics! Between you, Eddie and a few others here you gents have them dialed in pretty damned good IMHO! Keep up the great catching!