Fall Trout Stocking Begins

[Billfish715]

There are a few adjustments coming up in the fall trout stocking which begins in two weeks. The biggest change will be the "gag order" on the stocking schedule. Just as during the spring schedule, there will be no advanced information about when and where the trout will be stocked. Much like last year, the streams are very low. Where the fish are stocked will likely be the same as the last several years but exact spots for stocking will be subject to the water depth and flow at specific locations. It is also left up to the discretion of the driver and his helper to determine if conditions at those stocking points are favorable for stocking.

There is a limited number of trout that will be stocked compared to the spring schedule. Not every location where there is a "trout stocked waters" sign will be stocked with trout. If you have fished in the fall in the past, you'll know where to go. If you fish in the upper stretches of many of the major streams like the South Branch, expect to find that parking is at a premium. The upper portions of some of the streams are usually much narrower than the downstream sections and so finding a "hole" that is stocked will draw crowds. The SB is also very accessible from the roads that are adjacent to it but finding a pull off with no parked cars is a challenge.

With a lot of people still working from home, I expect to see more fishermen along the banks this fall. I'm sure they will make time to get away from their computers at home and will conduct business with a fishing rod in one hand and a phone in the other.

https://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/trtinfo_fall.htm

[FASTEDDIE29]

Knowing this is coming soon I actually took some time Sunday to check on a bunch of Trout stocked water. They are low, too low! Same stuff, different year. Thankfully I usually don’t start to Trout fish until the end of November. Our creeks are down to a trickle but hopefully Mother Nature comes through with a couple inches of rain sooner rather than later. Checked on a few wild trout streams in the Rt. 78 corridor and they were as dry as the desert. Not good! Let’s see what happens. I’m sure the same guys will be on the North Branch snagging the stockers with plain jigheads as they do every fall. Hopefully our game wardens can catch em’ in the act. :D

[RWole]

Hopefully this does not become the new way the state stocks trout. Hopefully next year they return to the schedule as in years past with bodies of water and dates clearly stated. They have screwed up trout stocking enough with eliminating Browns and Brookies.

[bigfishy]

I hope they keep the stocking like this!! Never understood the need to know where and when they stock....starting date is good enough....if they stocked you'll catch em, if they didnt , you wont....

[dakota560]

Knowing this is coming soon I actually took some time Sunday to check on a bunch of Trout stocked water. They are low, too low! Same stuff, different year. Thankfully I usually don’t start to Trout fish until the end of November. Our creeks are down to a trickle but hopefully Mother Nature comes through with a couple inches of rain sooner rather than later. Checked on a few wild trout streams in the Rt. 78 corridor and they were as dry as the desert. Not good! Let’s see what happens. I’m sure the same guys will be on the North Branch snagging the stockers with plain jigheads as they do every fall. Hopefully our game wardens can catch em’ in the act. :D
Understand fishery management is in a quandary when low water conditions exist in the fall as they do now. I also imagine the hatcheries need to release surplus fish to prepare for the upcoming season. If at the time of planned stocking certain waters are too low, trout should be redirected to lakes and reservoirs or streams that can support their survival to prevent people corraling fish and snagging them, especially the breeders. That's not the intended purpose of the fishery and certainly not why people pay license fees to support that kind of behavior.

Incident occurred in the different state but applies to the same situation Eddie described. I remember years ago fishing Oak Orchard in upstate New York and doing very well fly fishing with a dead egg pattern for beautiful brown trout. Six guys come along right below me, wade out into the middle of the stream I'm fishing in my line of drift using heavy duty spinning outfits and what looked like 3 oz chartreuse spros, spotting and snagging their limit of trophy browns all put on a stringer and taken from the river. Also obviously ended the bite I had going on the stretch I was fishing. Said something when they first waded out into the stretch and got the proverbial "not your river, &$#! off" reply. Real idiots. Called NYDEC but unfortunately by the time the two guys got there these six guys were already gone.

20% of the idiots that call what they do fishing ruin it for the other 80% who do it right. You see it happening call the conservation officers, they need help patrolling our waterways and so do the fisheries. Strange how the great outdoors and a beautiful fishery we have available brings the best out of most and at the same the worst out of too many.

When caught, the fines imposed should insure they'll never make the same mistake twice. Probably single biggest reason the behavior is prevalent, when caught which is rare, they end up with a slap on the wrist. Shame the outcome these fish face considering the effort the state goes through to produce them and stock them in the waterways in New Jersey. Hopefully one day the judicial system which is supposed to support NJF&G wakes up and addresses the problem. Not a difficult situation to resolve and one that should generate incremental revenues to support greater enforcement efforts. In the meantime, as Eddie mentioned, hopefully we get some rain that's desperately needed otherwise the fall stocking program will be a circus.

[AndyS]

No need to post dates every time a water body is stocked, I like it !

[dakota560]

No need to post dates every time a water body is stocked, I like it !

Couldn't agree more, it's part of what creates the problem. The problem, like everything in life, is it's not about the fishery it's about money and revenue generation through license fees. The more people who know about stocking dates the more license fee revenue in state coffers. And it's not about survival of the fish they're stocking, it's about the most comprehensive inclusion of rivers being stocked so more anglers are again signing up for licenses and generating fees. It's the way the world operates and it's not about the change.

[FASTEDDIE29]

Definitely a fan of not posting dates and bodies of water. It should give the Trout buddies some time to escape the wrath of the meat hunters. Haha! The state has to make room for next years opening day Trout. We can count on them to get em’ in the water one way or another. Hopefully the rain gods give us something soon. I expect to see more anglers than usual on the water this year. Things could get interesting. :D

[Doug Vitale]

I've never had much luck trout fishing in the fall. Even though the summer temps are gone, usually the stream levels are lower than what you'd expect. I have been in the Catskills and Adirondacks several times in September over the past few years, and and even there nearly all the streams get bone dry this time of year. I just checked weather.gov for my town, and sure enough there is no rain predicted for the next seven days except for an occasional "chance of showers" here and there - not enough to fill streams.

NJ's streams are simply not robust habitats for trout. Without the stocking program, trout fishing would barely exist in our state. I have seen scant evidence that trout in any appreciable numbers hold over from one year to the next. When the streams get as low as they are now, the trout are sitting ducks for predators like heron.

Brown trout tolerate warmer water than brookies and rainbows do, but we all know the story by now about the hatchery's decision to raise only rainbows.

Strange how the great outdoors and a beautiful fishery we have available brings the best out of most and at the same the worst out of too many.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have met the best and worst of men while hunting and fishing. It probably has something to do with there being two kinds of sportsmen: those who truly love and respect nature and her creatures and who undergo a kind of relaxing purification when they're in the woods or on the water, and then you have the ego-centric guys who are in it mostly mostly for the "thrill of the kill" and who want attention and validation for bringing home the biggest or the most fish and game. This variation sets the stage for personality clashes.

[Hookmanski]

I've never had much luck trout fishing in the fall. Even though the summer temps are gone, usually the stream levels are lower than what you'd expect. I have been in the Catskills and Adirondacks several times in September over the past few years, and and even there nearly all the streams get bone dry this time of year. I just checked weather.gov for my town, and sure enough there is no rain predicted for the next seven days except for an occasional "chance of showers" here and there - not enough to fill streams.

NJ's streams are simply not robust habitats for trout. Without the stocking program, trout fishing would barely exist in our state. I have seen scant evidence that trout in any appreciable numbers hold over from one year to the next. When the streams get as low as they are now, the trout are sitting ducks for predators like heron.

It's interesting you say that. For me, Fall and Winter trout fishing the last few years has been great. I think the best day of trout fishing I ever had was in December one year, when i caught a tons of rainbows and my PB brookie. I think NJ has plenty of places trout can holdover, but the effort you need to catch them is high. Water levels do get low and yes most of the trout are eaten/taken, but every year I go out fishing on my dad's birthday in January and always seem to catch some!

[thmyorke1]

I love the fall trout stockings, one suggestion is to wait and stock only once the waters get high. Cause it seems every fall we do get some good rain, but it's a matter of luck/timing if it falls at the same time of the scheduled stocking.

Regardless, it seems eventually by late October a bunch of rainbows swim down into the raritan mainstem :D a fun time :D

[AndyS]

Fall trout are unlike the trout in the spring, these are very large fish with built up body fat. The smaller stocked trout need to feed often, these broodstock can go weeks before they need to slap on the feedbag.
Look at fall with the fluctuating water temps, then the tons of leaves that fall off the trees and mat the surface making it almost impossible to fish.
Move to the first week of November, temps stabilize, leaves are mostly gone, time for those big trout to start feeding ! I love November for fall trout fishing.

[baetis]

I like some of the newer stocking protocols better than the old.
- loved the C&R for two weeks before opening day. They should continue that policy in the future on all of the major in season closed streams and make it artificial lures only for those two weeks.
- I like the no publishing of the date stocked, especially in the fall with low water. Those fish are usually stacked like cord wood and don’t have a chance.
- they need to start raising brown trout again. It’s ridiculous all neighboring states can raise a multitude of species but NJ can’t.

[briansnat]

Hopefully this does not become the new way the state stocks trout. Hopefully next year they return to the schedule as in years past with bodies of water and dates clearly stated. They have screwed up trout stocking enough with eliminating Browns and Brookies.

I actually like it. No more everybody coming out on stocking day and picking the area clean.

I would like to see "X body of water is being stocked with Y number of trout between DD/MM and DD/MM".

And they can mix it up. Dump in all of the trout on one visit in some rivers and spread them out over a few weeks in others. If you hit an "all in one day" river it will be like hitting the lottery.

I'm sure it will increase the number of hatchery truck followers, but most of us don't have the time for that.

[Fred E. Goose]

I like some of the newer stocking protocols better than the old.
- loved the C&R for two weeks before opening day. They should continue that policy in the future on all of the major in season closed streams and make it artificial lures only for those two weeks.

I personally did not like this decision. You still had the people ignoring the rules and keeping them, on the other hand there were a lot of people trying to follow the rules but mishandling their catch and I saw a ton of dead trout this year compared to years past. Much of that has to do with photographing their catch for facebook and various fishing forum websites bragging boards (no offense guys) ;)

I do agree that not publishing the date stocked is a good move. If they would just list the bodies of water that are stocked for each season it is enough. You either hit it right or miss it. The only thing that publishing exact dates does is draw crowds to an otherwise socially-distant covid-era-approved activity.

[dakota560]

There's people that play by the rules and then there's unfortunately people who make their own rules. Nothing you can do about the later other than call enforcement and hope they get there in time when you observe people breaking the rules.

C&R on opening day and during the fall stocking program at least give trout the opportunity to acclimate to the water they're stocked in and a chance to spread out if water levels allow. It will also keep some meat guys off the waters for a few weeks. There will be unfortunately some mortality through mishandling of fish but at least every fish landed doesn't end up on a chain. Worst thing I think I've ever seen in our sport are guys following stocking trucks around and a group of people surrounding freshly stocked fish pulling them out ass first. Catch and release for the first two weeks of stocking at least attempts to address that problem and while it won't eliminate it, it should help reduce the negative impacts of the above. It should also offer the added benefit of giving trout some time to become a bit more river savvy and not commit suicide the first day they're stocked.

[Capt. Lou]

It worked in spring ,I also noticed more dead fish strewn about on some streams . However like was mentioned I believe it can help sustain better fishing during late fall thru winter !
The biggest issue is the way fished are released , if they had the manpower these fish would not have to be bridge dumped .
Spreading them out would insure those fish could get time to adapt and make for a better angling experience for all !
If this one method was changed it would better the fishing throughout the season

[Jigman13]

I hear they make great sword fish bait... soft, supple and they slide right down the hatch when stitched to 4x 10/0 jobu hook :D:D:D

[BT67]

with the rain we just had now is the time to dump em in

[Billfish715]

with the rain we just had now is the time to dump em in


Keep an eye on this site to see the water levels. Watch to see how fast the levels drop or don’t. More showers are in the forecast for the next couple of days. Any rain will help.

https://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?site_no=01457000&format=gif_mult_sites&PARAmeter_cd=00060&period=7

[thmyorke1]

with the rain we just had now is the time to dump em in

https://i.postimg.cc/cL9Cs97x/image.png

agreed! By October 6th, the good high water will go back to normal, but at least we wont be in total dry conditions. Im hoping the rain chances leading up to Oct 6th brings up some more water.

A good idea; but probably difficult to implement; expand the stocking schedule window.
Oct 6th-14th?, make that Last week of September - mid october

Let f&w make the decision, based off rain forecast and temps, they can choose when best to stock.

[Castaway]

And lower the limit to two fish in the fall/winter.

[AndyS]

And lower the limit to two fish in the fall/winter.

That right there !!

[CMA719]

I've said it before and I'll say it again: I have met the best and worst of men while hunting and fishing. It probably has something to do with there being two kinds of sportsmen: those who truly love and respect nature and her creatures and who undergo a kind of relaxing purification when they're in the woods or on the water, and then you have the ego-centric guys who are in it mostly mostly for the "thrill of the kill" and who want attention and validation for bringing home the biggest or the most fish and game. This variation sets the stage for personality clashes.

Agreed, and you perfectly described both types. It's really sad and frustrating.

[devildogski]

I never liked it when they posted the dates hope it stays this way from now on